


My Name is not Mark!

by Applesaucy411



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Character Death, Comedy, Down the Rabbit Hole - Freeform, F/F, F/M, High Fantasy, Isekai, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Multi, Mystery, Original Character(s), Romance, Surtr Dies Horribly, Transvestite, Violence, War is hell, failure - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2019-06-26 04:22:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15655674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Applesaucy411/pseuds/Applesaucy411
Summary: In which the Tactician finds himself in the world of Zenith and learns to deal with the consequences and pressure of not being as ingenious as history claims him to be. And corrects people. About his name. All. The. Time!





	1. Victory is not Success

The myrmidon was fast. Scarily so. Like a fly that was too quick to swat; he danced around a volley of arrows with hops, leans, and twirls. And then, as his opponent — an archer — reached for another arrow, he charged. Or rather, he struck. Like a bolt of lightning. In an instant, his blade was drenched in the archer's blood. And the archer was splayed across the ground. A mangled corpse. The myrmidon had struck more than necessary. He had overkilled. And he was prepared to do it again.

"Catriona," murmured Aaron as the myrmidon eyed him with caution. Aaron met the myrmidon's gaze with a glower and then glanced at Catriona, the fallen archer. Subsequently, as soon as Aaron took his eyes off the myrmidon, the myrmidon charged! In a single bound, the myrmidon crossed all of the great distance between Aaron and him. Immediately afterward, the myrmidon slashed at Aaron. Or rather, he tried to. Only to be stopped by a lack of a weapon. His sword, the Killing Edge, was gone. As was the hand that had been holding it. And the arm the hand had been attached to. As well as the shoulder that the arm had been attached to! With constricted pupils and clenched teeth, the myrmidon landed in front of Aaron and then screamed into the sky. Subsequently, as Aaron splattered the myrmidon's blood off of his Slim Sword onto the ground with a swipe of the Slim Sword, the myrmidon dropped onto his back and then began to writhe in agony.

"Be not deceived. God is not mocked! For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap!" spat Aaron as he sheathed his Slim Sword in the artful yet formal manner of an iaidoka. Immediately afterward, Aaron unhooked a sack of Vulneraries from one of his jeans' belt loops and then rushed over to Catriona. The archer, the woman, was breathless. And still. Perfectly still. She was bleeding. A lot. And quiet. So quiet. Even after Aaron rubbed a vulnerary onto her wounds. She remained as she was. Even after Aaron rubbed a second vulnerary, she did not change. Before the third could be applied, Aaron was pulled away. Aaron smacked the arm of the interloper away and then glowered at the interloper, a spear-wielding woman named Esra. The woman did not glower back. She simply shook her head. And as she did so, the pupils of Aaron's eyes constricted with recognition and Aaron lowered his head and slumped his shoulders. The woman frowned.

"I'm sor-"

"Don't," snapped Esra, quieting Aaron as she did so. "She chose this. It was her decision. That she made on her own. And of her own volition. Even though she, unlike many others, had options. Do not trivialize that decision with misplaced guilt!"

"Kay," murmured Aaron in a whisper that was not meant to be heard, as it was more for himself than for Esra. Even still, Esra heard. And she nodded. She then grabbed Aaron's attention with by tapping Aaron with the shaft of her spear. "Huh?"

"We must go," said Esra with a gesture towards an incoming horde of men and women, some of whom were heavily armored and all of whom were heavily armed! The horde was yet another wave of brigands. Kinda. Technically, they were deserters whom were engaging in brigandage out of desperation rather true brigands whom engaged in brigandage as a lifestyle. Not that it mattered. Cause whether it was a career criminal or a deserter. A brigand was a brigand.

"I can't," said Aaron with a shake of his head and then a retch as Esra punched him in stomach. Immediately afterward, before he was able to recover from or respond to Esra's punch to his stomach, Esra threw him over her shoulder and then began to carry him off! "St-st-stop! I can't! No! P-p-please!"

"Enough!" shouted Esra as she turned a corner and came upon a pair of fellows whom were each mounted on a horse of their own, Ewert and Ueli. Immediately afterward, she tossed Aaron to Ewert and then wasted no time in saddling up with Ueli. "Ewert! Where he goes, you go! Got it‽"

"Understood," said Ewert as he grabbed Aaron's hand with the firmest grip that he could muster. "My lord tactician, please sit up and hold on tight. Cause this is going to be a bumpy ride!"

"Ewert. Please! Listen to me!" begged Aaron in a tone of voice that was the closest that one could get to a sob without actually breaking down into tears. "Even if their deaths were not my fault, it was still I whom lead them to their deaths! They followed me into that suicide mission, so I should follow them into death! It's only right! You can't just get a bunch of people killed and them dip out as soon as you're the only one left to die! That's-"

"I will gladly let you go..." began Ewert with a smile that was quick to change into a frown as Ewert continued. "...so long as you allow me to go with you,"

"That's-"

"If you are not willing to allow me to die, don't ask me to allow you to die!" snapped Ewert with a shake of his head. As Ewert did so, Ueli used a lash of his reins to prompt his steed into gallop. Subsequently, as Esra and Ueli rode away, Ewert let go of Aaron's hand. "Now, before we get too far behind, sit up and grab a hold of me. Alright?"

"Alright," said Aaron as he did as he was told, eliciting a sigh of relief from Ewert as he did so. 

* * *

Just as Ewert said it would be, the ride was bumpy and rough. It was also long. Very long. Two to three hours long. Which was to be expected, as the ride was a journey from a village in the country's outskirts to town in the country's heart. Well, to be honest, the ride was but a part of that journey. As the horses were animals, not automobiles. Unlike, say, a car. The horses could not carry Aaron and co from the village straight to the town. As the horses needed food. And water. And, of course, rest. Not that Aaron was complaining, as he needed rest to. For, as previously stated, the ride had been rather bumpy and rough.

"Good to see that at least one of you made it back!" exclaimed a giant of a man; named Durmas; as Aaron, Esra, Wert, and Ueli dismounted in a camp of refugees. "To be honest, when you came up with that plan to hold those marauders back with such a small and token force while the rest of us escaped and evacuated the village, I never thought — not even for a second — that it would actually work!"

"Mhm," hummed Aaron with a lowered head and sagging shoulders. Aaron was not surprised by Durmas' words. He had not expected Durmas, or any for that matter, to have any faith in his plan. Particularly because he, himself, had not had any faith in his plan! The attack had been sloppy but sudden. The deserters had appeared in the horizon and charged. They had made no effort to disguise their approach or intentions. And so, there had been a bit of time before the battle. The village had a militia, but it was outgunned and outnumbered. The deserters had armor and weapons. The militia had cloth and tools. Axes that were meant for lumbering. Bows and arrows that were meant for hunting rather than soldiering. Pitchforks and scythes. That kind of stuff.

There was no way in hell that the militia was going to defeat those deserters. So it was decided that everyone should run for the hills, literally, and then make their way to the nearest town. Unfortunately, there was no way in hell that the deserters would allow the villagers to escape. As the villagers were witnesses to their existence. Witnesses that could get a bounty on their heads. Or worse, a company of knights sent after them. The deserters were desperate. Not stupid. They would hunt down and kill the villagers to the last man, woman, and child. Running was not a option.

Or rather, just running was not an option.

Aaron's plan had been, well, crazy. As it was based on an assumption. An assumption that the deserters were either foolish or greedy. The plan was to assemble all of the village's resources and valuables to one place where they could be easily seen and then defend that place for as long as it took for an escape and evacuation to be complete. And that's it. It was a stupid, stupid plan. Lure the deserters and then try not to die too fast. There had been no plans of escape. None whatsoever. It was a suicide missions. Plain and simple. And that is why Aaron had decided to lead it himself. If he was going to send people to their deaths, he would be sending himself to that same death as well. To do otherwise was, to Aaron, cowardly. A bitch move. To be frank. And while Aaron may have been an idiot, he was no bitch. At least, so he thought. Back then. But now, after having watched each and every last person under his command die under his command, Aaron felt like nothing but a bitch. A weak bitch without the capacity to lead or protect anyone at all.

"...was skeptical at first, but now I can see that you truly are the Superb-"

"No," said Aaron in an emotionless and flat tone of voice, ruthlessly cutting Durmas off as he did so. "The Superb Mind? The Famed Genius? Get out of here. I am no such thing. The only such title that I can lay claim to..."

"...is the Suspect Mind," grumbled Aaron more to himself than to Durmas. Immediately afterward, before Durmas or anyone else could have a say on the matter, Aaron left. He turned his back to them, hoping that they would punish him for his incompetence by stabbing it, and then walked away. He didn't walk far, as he was tired from the ride. But he walked far enough. Far enough to find a rock to hide behind. Unfortunately for Aaron, as he stepped behind that rock, he came face to face with a familiar yet unfamiliar face.

"The Superb Mind was a tactician whose brilliance changed the course of history!" quoted Matthew as he moved away from the rock and into a prance around Aaron. "Bern and Etruria so desired his skilled mind, that they went to war!"

"Okay?" murmured Aaron in a tone of disinterest. And a fidget of discomfort. Matthew. Aaron knew him, but at the same time, Aaron did not know a thing about him. Aaron knew Matthew as a character, but Aaron did not know him as a person. So Matthew was familiar, but he was unfamiliar as well. It was, well, strange. To say the least. And a bit alarming as well. Aaron had suspected it. And even hoped for it! But he had not thought. He never considered. The idea was too good to be true. Reality was not that kind.

"To the historians; he was Mark," noted Matthew as he stopped his prance in front of Aaron and then looked Aaron in the eyes. "But to the legion..."

"...he was Aaron," whispered Mathew with a sparkle in his eye and a wide grin. Aaron grimaced at Matthew's face and words and then looked away. "It's good to see you again, my lord tactician!"

"I'm not who you think I am," murmured Aaron as a thought crossed his mind. The thought of him losing Lyndis Legion as he had just loss the militia. That thought. Even if he were not in Fire Emblem, as he were now, that thought would have been scary. And now that he was in Fire Emblem, the thought was more than scary. It was, to put it simply, absolutely terrifying. So terrifying, Aaron was finding it difficult to keep his wits about him and avoid trembling in fear of the very thought of it! "I'm not that guy. That mind, it isn't mine. I'm-"

"Nonsense! You are exactly who I think you are!" exclaimed Matthew as he wrapped an army around Aaron and then began to drag Aaron away from the rock and back towards the camp. "Even if you were not the Superb Mind, which you are, you would be still be who I think you are! Because, to me, you are not Mark the Tactician. You are Aaron! My comrade and friend,"

"Matthew..." mumbled Aaron with a sniffle and then a smile. Matthew smiled back and then removed his arm as Aaron and him made their way back to the camp in relatively good spirits. "...thank you,"


	2. Useless is not Worthless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which it comes to light exactly why the tactician has not allied with or joined the Order of Heroes alongside the rest of his comrades and friends.

"Are you going to see her?" asked Matthew, out of the blue, just as Aaron and him were taking their leave of the villagers. The question called Aaron's pupils to constrict in surprise, so Aaron turned his head away from Matthew. But it was too late. Matthew had seen. And he smiled. Giddily and toothily. Like a child who had just gotten what they wanted for Christmas. "Ohoho! Shall I take that as a yes?"

"Maybe," answered Aaron, quietly and stoically. He then scowled at the smile on Matthew's face. "Stop,"

"D'aww!" whined Matthew an instant before he burst into an impromptu snicker. "No need to be so touchy about the subject. Aaron! Friend! Pal! It's me! Matthew! You can open up to me, right?"

"Never took you for a gossip hen," said Aaron in a snort, earning himself yet another snicker from Matthew as he did so. "Or the type to giggle like a schoolgirl!"

"I'm a spy! Of course I'm a gossip!" said Matthew in a snort of his own. By this point in time, Aaron and Matthew were out of town and on a cobblestone road. "And schoolgirl?"

"Oh, that's right, public education is probably not a thing in Lycia..." murmured Aaron in a whisper and with downcast eyes. "...forget I said anything about it,"

"Only if you forget about whatever is that is keeping you..." began Matthew in a tone that gradually but also viciously changed from playful to wrathful. "...from doing what you should have done the moment you got here!"

"And what, pray tell, is-"

"When are you going to see Lyn?" asked Mathew in a snap as he came to a stop, grabbed the collar of Aaron's shirt, and then forced Aaron to look him in the eyes. "Tell me! Now!"

"Whoa!" exclaimed with a raise of his arms. "Hostile much?"

"Hostile?" growled Matthew as he released Aaron's collar and then walked a small distance away Aaron. "Tell me, Aaron, do you think our meeting was a coincidence?"

"Of course not," sighed Aaron with a sag of his shoulders. "You tracked me down,"

"Yes," confirmed Matthew an instant before he shot Aaron a most nasty look. "Yes. I did. An entire  **YEAR** ago!"

"Tch!"

"Don't tch me!" retorted Matthew with a wave of his hand. "What! The! Hell! Mark‽"

"My name is Aaron!" snarled Aaron with a stamp of his foot. "Aaron! A! A! R! O! N! Aaron!"

"Oh really?" snorted Matthew as he crossed his arms and then tilted his head. "Aaron huh? That can't be right. Cause I remembered Aaron as a friend! Not as a stranger!"

"As a friend, huh?" murmured Aaron. He then looked up into the air and clenched his fists. Aaron was not Mark. That was the truth. In more ways than one. His name was not Mark. And, no matter what the party of Fire Emblem 7 thought, he was not the tactician Mark either. He was not a wandering tactician looking to master and practice his trade. He was a player. A dork, geek, and nerd mashing buttons on a GBA. Matthew saw him as a comrade. A friend. But he? He saw Matthew as a character. A unit. Or, at least, he did. In the past. Back when he was playing Fire Emblem rather than living it. Now. Now he saw Matthew as a fool. A victim. Someone under a deception and an illusion. A lie. Matthew believed Aaron to be Mark. But Aaron was not Mark. He was not Matthew's friend and comrade. He was not Matthew's tactician. He was, in fact, a stranger. And he was afraid to be anything more than that. Just in case, just in case....

 

...just in case the _real_ Mark showed up.

 

"Aaron..." sighed Matthew with a languid shake of his head. "...why have you been avoiding us? Just tell me that. I won't ask you of anything but that. So, please. Tell me. Why?"

"Because I'm not who y'all think I am," answered Aaron with his eyes on the clouds. "I did not come to you, because I can not help you. As I am now, I would only be a burden to you. That is why,"

"That's it? Really? That's it?" asked Matthew with a his mouth dropped into a gape. "You have got to be, you can't be, are you really-"

"I WANT TO BE OF USE!" screamed Aaron. Out of nowhere. Causing Matthew to shut his mouth — literally — as he did so. "I don't want to be a burden! I don't want to be useless! I just, I just want to be-"

And then he heard it.

"Damn," swore Matthew as he whipped out a dagger and Aaron dropped into a low but ready stance.

"Just our luck," snorted Aaron as he focused on hearing rather than seeing. As Aaron did so, he began to hear the clamor of footsteps and the rustling of leaves. And chanting. In whispers. Cries for mercy. Pleas for death. An orison for euthanasia.

 

Tell-tale signs of the unwilling undead!

 

"Outnumbered and outgunned, just like old times, huh?" laughed Matthew as Aaron and him pushed their backs against one another's. Subsequently, as Matthew giggled and snickered over their predicament like a demented crossover between a schoolgirl and a madman, Aaron's pupils hastily dotted from side to side as he counted and eyed all of Matthew and his foes. Or rather, as he tried to do so. Unfortunately for Aaron, their foes were invisible. For the most part. Kinda. Truthfully, they were totally visible. However, seeing as their appearances were best described as a humanoid silhouettes composed of naught but shimmering air, they might as well had been invisible. Because, technically visible or not, Aaron could not see them for shit. At least, not when they weren't grouped together or moving. "My lord tactician! I humbly await your no-doubt brilliant orders!"

"Hmm," hummed Aaron as he took a quick glance at his surroundings. They were in the middle of a cobblestone road which was situated amidst the lofty verdure of a hilly grassland. All of the foes that Aaron could see were either ahead of them or behind them. Aaron considered the tall grass around them and then frowned. And then, with a sigh, Aaron crouched just a bit more and then tightened both his left hand's hold on his Slim Sword's scabbard and his right hand's hold on his Slim Sword's grip. "We're sitting ducks here, but the camouflage of the grass would make them truly invisible and make it difficult for us to work together,"

"I see..." said Matthew in a deep and somber voice, an instant before he spun around Aaron and then lunged into a charge down the cobblestone road. As Matthew did so, a pair of burly shimmers made their presences known with a battle cry and a hefty shimmer lumbered towards Matthew with a great shield and spear in hand. Matthew smirked at his opposition, two fighters and a knight, and then abruptly dropped onto the ground. Subsequently, Mathew's drop allowed the knight to finally see the Slim Sword that Aaron had thrown at the knight! And then; before the knight was able to react; the blade of the Slim Sword entered a small opening between the knight's helm and breastplate, pierced through the knight's chainmail undershirt, and became embedded within the knight's neck.

"Whoo wee! If I had ducked any later, that throw probably would have taken off me head instead of his throat!" laughed Matthew as the knight dropped to the ground and gurgled out a thank you. As this occurred, Aaron charged past Matthew with his scabbard in hand. Immediately afterward, Matthew jumped to his feet with a dagger at the ready and then turned to face a cavalier whom was situated behind Aaron and him.

"My bad!" apologized Aaron as he neared the two fighters. Aaron was a fool. A great fool! But he was not stupid. He had no delusions or illusions about being able to defeat one, much less two, fighters with naught but scabbard. Which was why...

"My turn!"

...he had no problem with using the same tactic _twice_.

"Gaworargh!" howled one of the fighters as a throwing knife became lodged within his right eye. As this occurred, Aaron was able to lean under the fighter's attempt to chop him with a steel axe and then immediately lurch into a pounce upon the fighter. Before the other fighter was able to stop Aaron; Aaron tackled the fighter to the ground, yanked the throwing knife out of the fighter's right eye, and then lodged the throwing knife into the fighter's left eye! Immediately afterward, in order to avoid being chopped in half by the remaining fighter, Aaron was forced to drop face-first into a desperate duck and then backflip away with the throwing knife in hand. Subsequently, as Aaron landed on his feet, he could not help but to snort out a "Tch!" as his ears were troubled by the rat-a-tat-tat of a horse's gallop!

"Matthew!"

"Got it!" laughed Matthew as he used his dagger to chop up some of the tall grass around him and then dropped the tall grass in-between the incoming cavalier and him. As Matthew did so, Aaron withdrew an Ember tome and then mutedly recited an incantation in a draconic language of hisses and roars. "Anytime now!"

"Apologies!" screamed Aaron as the runes on one of the Ember tome's pages arose off of the page and into the air. Immediately afterward, the runes imploded into a fireball and then the fireball zigzagged into a firebolt which struck the grass that Mathew had dropped between the cavalier and him. Needless to say, the grass was ignited by the firebolt. However, because the grass had been ignited by a magical flame rather than a conventional flame, the grass was alit with a much hotter and larger blaze than it should have been. A blaze that was so hot and so large, that it effectively formed a wall of heat and light between the cavalier and Matthew.  Of course, considering the fact that their opponents were the undead of the Invisible Kingdom, Aaron did not expect that wall to stop the cavalier's charge...

"Oh shit it worked! He charged right past me!"

...but he did expect the wall to allow Matthew to hide in the grass as the cavalier charged through the wall and thereby cause the cavalier to show his back to Matthew!

"And a one, and a two, and a three!" song Matthew as he accurately yet quickly threw a throwing knife into the back of the cavalier's head, the back of the cavalier's neck, and the cavalier's ass. Immediately afterward, as the cavalier fell off his horse and onto the ground, Matthew celebrated with a Mario jump. However, as Mathew did so...

"Rargh!"

...the remaining fighter jumped into the air with a steel axe raised over his head and then downward swung the steel axe at Aaron's head as he descended upon Aaron. In order to avoid being chopped in half, Aaron hopped to the side. Aaron then had to lean back in order to avoid the sideward chop that followed the downward chop, drop to the ground in order to avoid a diagonal chop, and then avoid a fourth chop by gator rolling towards the fighter. Immediately afterward, Aaron entangledi his legs around the fighter's legs and then used his legs to trip the fighter into a drop onto him. Aaron then wasted no time in using a gator roll to get the fighter on bottom and himself on top.

Unfortunately for Aaron, before he was able to take advantage of his position atop of the fighter, the figher used his undead strength to punch Aaron in the chest with enough force to knock all of the air out of Aaron's lungs. Subsequently, as Aaron gasped for air, the fighter pulled Aaron into a headbutt and then kicked Aaron with enough force to knock Aaron off of him and into a hurtle through the air.

"Aaron!" screamed Matthew as Aaron dropped out of the air and into a crash on the ground and as the fighter jumped to his feet and then roared Aaron with a steel axe raised overhead. Immediately afterward, Matthew began to hastily and haphazardly throw as many throwing knives as he could!

"It's what I deserve," murmured Aaron with a few coughs of blood as the fighter lunged towards Aaron, reeled the steel axe back, and then swung the steel axe overhead and at Aaron's head! 

"I disagree!"

"What?" breathed Aaron as he watched the fighter dropped the steel axe and then fall onto the ground beside him. Subsequently, as Matthew's throwing knives flew over Aaron's head, Aaron inquisitively raised an eyebrow at the sight of an arrow which had its head poking out of the fighter's left ear and its feather poking out of the fighter's right ear. Immediately afterward, Aaron looked to the right and gasped at the sight of **Wil**!

"What?" asked Wil as he put an arrow and his bow away and then smirked at the looks of surprise on Aaron and Matthew's faces. "You didn't think that I was going to let Matthew hog this reunion all to himself, did you?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are welcomed. 8D


	3. Confidence is not Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the tactician learns what it means to be Lyndis Legion.

"You didn't think that I was going to let Matthew hog this reunion all to himself, did you?" asked Wil with a shrug and smirk. For quite a while, Aaron and Matthew just stared. And stared. And stared until Wil got tired of it. "Oi! What gives‽ Aren't you going to thank me or question me or something? Why are you just standing around and staring‽"

"I can't figure out how you — of all people — found us," explained Matthew as Aaron and his foes' corpses effervesced into bubbles that were quick to pop into non-existence. "Cause I just can't bring myself to believe that you — of all people — managed to track us down,"

"What do you mean ' _of all people_ '‽"

"Who told you where we were at?" asked Aaron naught but a moment before he poured his last vulnerary into his mouth and then started to use a gurgle to hasten his saliva's dissolution of the vulnerary.

"Why do you think someone had to tell me‽"

"Come now Wil, don't be difficult!" snickered Matthew. As Mathew did so, Aaron forced himself to swallow his solution of saliva and vulnerary and then — as the vulnerary in the solution healed his bruises and internal wounds — used his left wrist to wipe a bit of blood and vulnerary off of his mouth.

"I'll have you know that I am a damn good hunter and so a damn good tracker as well!" asserted Wil with a flail of his arms and a stomp of his feet, it was as if Wil was an elementary schooler whom was throwing a temper tantrum.

"Mhm. I see. So you were hunting these invisibles and just so happened to chance upon us while you were doing so," inferred Aaron as he pushed himself to his feet and then pointed to the town down the cobblestone street. "Otherwise you would have approached us in town rather than wait for a random encounter to save us from,"

"Uhh, well, you see..." murmured Wil with his eyes looking away from Aaron and Matthew rather than toward them. "...uhh,"

"Right. So that's it," sighed Aaron with a scratch of his head. "Well then. I'm afraid I have some bad news for you,"

"Eh?"

"The invisibles do not leave behind a body..."

"WHAT‽"

"...so if you were hunting them for a bounty; then I am afraid that you have been scammed," finished Aaron with a shrug of his shoulders. For a second, just a second, Wil gawked at Aaron. And then Wil threw his arms into the air and screamed into the sky.

"Nhuuu!"

"More importantly, why are there agents of the Invisible Kingdom in Zenith?" asked Aaron with a pointer finger and thumb on his chin. "Has Anankos been summoned‽"

"Anankos?" questioned Matthew and — surprisingly — Wil as well.

"You're hunting the dude's minions!" exclaimed Aaron as he aimed a point of accusation at Wil. "How and why are you unaware of him‽"

"Oi! I didn't ask any questions!" explained Wil in his defense. "I just agreed to kill a bunch of invisible marauders in exchange for a shit ton of gems and gold!"

"A bunch of gems and gold for offing a few marauders?" snorted Matthew with a roll of his eyes. "Come now Wil. You should have known that was a scam!"

"I didn't know they disappeared when they died!"

"Even still, with a ridiculous offer like that, you should have realized that _something_  was wrong," sighed Matthew as he walked up to Wil and karate chopped Wil on the forehead. "Baka!"

"Ouchie!"

"If the only bounty on them is a scam, they probably haven't been causing that much trouble..." audibly noted Aaron with a raised head and crossed arms. "...so either Anankos is showing restraint or he is under someone's control,"

"If this Anankos is anything like Nergal; then I would say it's probably the second," said Matthew from behind Aaron, eliciting a jump from Aaron as he did so. "Oh? Did I scare you? My bad♩"

"You did that on purpose!"

"Can't summoned heroes like us be forced into obedience by some kind of contract or something?" inquired Wil with a thoughtful look on his face. Subsequently, as he felt Aaron and Matthew's stares, Wil blinked and then took a look at Aaron and Matthew. "Hey! What's with those looks of surprise?"

"He said something useful..."

"...are you sick Wil? Are you feeling well? Do you have a fever?"

"I say useful things all of the time!" claimed Wil as he flipped an imaginary table towards Aaron and Matthew.

"How do you even know about that meme?"

"As far as I can tell; the only ones with the knowledge or power to form contracts with us summoned heroes..." started Matthew with a tilt of his head. "Are Askr, Embla, and Muspell!"

"Askr is out of the question!" asserted Wil with puffed cheeks and a puffed-up chest. "Those invisibles have been murdering and razing whomever and whatever they happen upon! Prince Cinnamon Ro, uh, Alfonse would never allow that!"

"Perhaps..."

"Most certainly!"

"...but what about King Gustav?" suggested Matthew in a deeper tone of voice than his usual.

"..."

"Well?"

"Ahem!" coughed Aaron an instant before he interrupted Matthew's suggestion with another. "Embla wants to conquer Askr rather than destroy it, so I doubt they have anything to do with the invisibles' actions. But Muspell, on the other hand, wants to destroy everyone and everything. So, if Anankos really is being held back, I doubt that he is under the control of Muspell. As; considering their goals and methods; Muspell would have no reason to hold Anankos back,"

"So you're saying it has to be Askr‽" growled Wil with a shake of his head. "I can't believe tha-"

"No,"

"Hmm?" "What?" spluttered Matthew and then Wil as the two of them directed a gawk at Aaron. "Come again?" "What do you mean 'No'‽"

"King Gustav has nothing to gain from murdering his own subjects and razing his own kingdom to the ground, and just as Wil says, Prince Alfonse is not the type. So Askr is not like to be responsible either,"

"Then who-"

"Oh!" exclaimed Matthew with a clap of his hands and then a smirk. "Oh. I get it now,"

"Good,"

"Get what‽" asked Wil in a scream and with a throw of his arms. "Don't keep secrets from me! Let me into the loop! What you guys get that I don't‽"

"Lots,"

"Your employer," answered Aaron with a shrug. "He's a cad,"

"Huh?" uttered Wil in a drawn-out drawl and with his mouth dropped into a gape. "Whaaat?"

"The bounty isn't a scam because the invisibles have not been causing that much trouble..." explained Matthew with his right palm atop of his face. "...it's a scam because you're employer is _cheap_ ,"

"No,"

"I'm afraid so," sighed Aaron with a shake of his head.

"No!"

"Wil..." chuckled Matthew at the sight of Wil's growing frustration and outrage.

"No way!" screamed Wil with clenched fists. "Are you trying to tell me that the castellan has allowed these invisibles to run rampant for no reason other than the fact that he is _too cheap to pay for their extermination_ ‽"

"I can't say for sure; but I am pretty sure of it," said Aaron with a stretch and a yawn. "Kind of makes sense, really. If the invisibles have been murdering people and razing villages as you say they have, then the invisibles are definitely worthy of a genuine bounty rather than a scam one. As such; it can be inferred that the reason the invisibles lack a genuine bounty is because the authorities don't _care_ enough to pay for one,"

"Makes a _whooole_ lot more sense than the idea that this Anankos fella is just holding back on his own, and the idea that Embla would murder and raze for no real reason, and _definitely_ the idea that Muspell would **NOT** murder and raze for no real reason!" agreed Matthew with a sigh.

"That's, that's, that's..!" snarled Wil with gnashing teeth and twitching fingers.

"...bad news," finished Aaron as he walked over to and retrieved his Slim Sword and then sheathed his Slim Sword within his scabbard. "The invisibles are a horde of transparent undead who add their victims to their numbers; as such, allowing them to run rampant is a no-no. If Anankos is acting alone, he isn't murdering and razing for shits and giggles..."

"...he's building an army!" yelled out Wil, earning himself a nod of agreement from Aaron and Matthew as he did so. "We have to stop him!"

"Excuse me‽"

"We have to stop him!"

"I _heard_ you the first time but..." grumbled Aaron more at Wil's occasional lack of sarcasm than Wil himself.

"We _have_ to stop him Aaron!" asserted Wil with a stomp of his foot.

"We _can't_ stop him Wil!" countered Aaron with a stomp of his foot.

"I want to stomp me foot too!"

"Sure we can!" laughed Will with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Even if it's just the three of us, as long as we've got that Superb Mind of-"

"I am not a  _god_ Wil!" screamed Aaron in an explosion of anger and fury that immediately frightened Wil into cowering behind Matthew. "I can not guarantee a victory without casualties or even a victory at all!"

"Aaron-"

"Even if you follow all of my orders without making any amount or sort of mistakes, and even if you carry out my plans with absolute perfection, you _can_ die!" whimpered Aaron in-between sobs. "I, I can not ensure your survival. And I am too weak to protect you. So, if you foolish place your trust in me, you may _die_ Wil!"

"Aaron..." whispered Wil as Aaron lowered his head, sagged his shoulders, and pitifully cried onto the ground like a grounded preteen. At the sight of Aaron's sad display, Wil moved out from behind Matthew and then walked up to Aaron. "...you bastard!"

"Wha-" was all Aaron got to say before Wil suddenly punched Aaron in the face and onto the ground. Subsequently, as Matthew's jaw dropped into a gape, Will walked up to the fallen Aaron and then glowered down at Aaron. "Wil?"

"You son of a bitch! Who do you think I am‽" growled Wil as he grabbed the collar of Aaron's shirt and then forced Aaron to stand up and look him in the eyes. "You think I'm Eliwood's Elite or Hector's Horde? Is that it? Is that who you think I am?"

"H-h-huh?" spluttered Aaron an instant before Wil began to shake him about and around. "Wh-wh-what are y-you t-t-talking a-about‽"

"I'm Lyndis Legion damn it!" screamed Wil as he dropped Aaron to the ground, thumped his chest with his fist, and then pointed his a thumb at himself. "I'm from way back! Back when you were no Superb Mind! Back when you were an inexperienced and untested tactician without a battle or fight to your name! So what in the hell makes you think I give a  **DAMN** about your track record‽"

"Wil..." breathed Aaron in awe and shock as Matthew walked up beside Wil with a smirk on his face.

"Aaron!" exclaimed Wil as he withdrew his bow and as Matthew withdrew his dagger. "When I followed you; when I listened to and obeyed your orders; it wan't because you were a genius, a god, or a Superb Mind..."

"...it was because you were my friend," finished Matthew as Wil and him offered their free hands to Aaron...

...and as Aaron accepted those hands and allowed them to pull him up.


	4. Insanity is not Ineptitude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the tactician loses his goddamn mind and comes up with the craziest as shit plan ever.

"Well..." started Wil as he overlooked the outskirts of Castle Ýdalir from atop the peak of a hill. All throughout the hilly grassland that surrounded Castle Ýdalir, Wil — with his remarkable eyesight — could see hordes of invisibles scurrying about like a swarm of rats. As far as Wil could tell, the invisibles did not seem to be on any sort of patrol. But rather, the invisibles seemed to be on the lookout for someone or perhaps something. Or, most likely, anyone they could kill and bring into their fold. "...this was a bust,"

"It would appear that his frugality backfired on him," groaned Matthew as he joined Wil in overlooking the castellany from atop the hill. "Which is just our luck; cause cheap or not; he probably would have helped us if we had managed to convince him of the seriousness of the situation,"

"I know it's difficult Wil, but can you try to see if any of those invisibles bear the heraldry of the castellan or any of his knights?" asked Aaron from the bottom of the hill. "I want to know if the castellan and his knights tried to put up a fight or if they retreated into the castle in fear as soon as they began to be assaulted by 'invisible' enemies,"

"I'm sorry; but that's impossible," sighed Wil with a shake of his head and a shrug. "I don't even know what their heraldry looks like. And even if I did, that invisibility of theirs makes spotting a detail like that impossible. Especially from a distance as far as this,"

"Damn," cursed Aaron. Subsequently, Aaron reached into his knapsack and pulled out his Ember tome. "Alright then. Tell me this. Does it look like they've managed to get into the castle?"

"Hmm. Not really..." murmured Wil with a hand in front of his forehead and squinted eyes. "...the castle looks alright. Unlike most of the surroundings villages,"

"Most?" questioned Aaron with an inquisitive raise of his eyebrow. "Not all?"

"Pretty much all," added Matthew as Wil pointed at something that Aaron could not see from down below. "Except the one with a wall. But it's surrounded. And looks as if the invisibles are trying to break the wall down,"

"Any faceless among those invisibles?"

"Faceless?"

"Big, hulking, goons that look more like a monster than a man;" explained Aaron with hand motions that did nothing to help Matthew and Wil understand. "Think uber zombies that fight with their bare hands,"

"Hmm. Don't think so. There a few things like that about, yeah. But looks to me like all the invisibles around that village got weapons," answered Wil as he scrutinized the enemies around Ullr Village. "Mostly axes,"

"Anankos does not have much to gain from laying siege to the castle; cause he can't hope to get inside without siege weaponry and his forces will be either annihilated or routed by either the Knights of Askr or the Order of Heroes if they remain here long enough for the Crown to detect and move against them," murmured Aaron with a rub of his chin. "He is crazy, but he isn't stupid. He isn't trying to get the castellan and his men out of the castle, he is trying to keep them in! Until he gets as many people as he can. With that in mind, to be worth this much effort, it has to be quite a few people. So, more likely than not, the locals didn't flee into the castle. They fled into that village! And that's why Anankos is bothering to try to break down those walls. Inside of it is the 'jackpot' that he came here for!"

"I see!" chuckled Matthew with a point towards the roving invisibles. "So that is why the brunt of his forces are wandering around in big groups rather than assisting in bringing down those walls. In order to keep the castellan and his knights from evacuating their serfs from that village and escorting them to the castle, Anankos has to keep the castellan and his knights fearful and in hiding. Of course, in order to do that, Anankos had to put together a show of force. But his troops are invisible. So, the only way he could show them off was to overdo it!"

"That makes sense. The only way a normal-eyed person would be able to see those invisibles from the castle walls is if the invisibles were in a large group and moving about," added Wil.

"So, if we're right, the people we're looking to save are in the village rather than the castle," murmured Aaron with crossed arms. "Thus..."

"Oh no,"

"Shit,"

"We've got to evacuate that village and escort the villagers to safety," stated Aaron, earning himself a look of incredulity from Matthew and Wil as he did so. "I'm serious,"

"And just how, the **HELL** , are we supposed to do **THAT**?" asked Matthew with a gesture towards the hundreds of thousands of invisibles. "We are more than just a little outnumbered here!"

"With fire," answered Aaron as a number of runes arose from a page of his Ember tome, assembled above his right palm, and then collapsed into a relatively small fireball. "It's the _dry_ season,"

"You want to start a grassfire in the middle of the dry season‽" asked Wil in a shout of disbelief and horror. "Are you _insane_?" You'll kill us all!"

"Fires are unpredictable," noted Matthew with a shake of his head. "So if we do start a fire; there be no guarantee that it'll do what we expect of or want from it,"

"Which is why I'll be using a magical flame instead of a natural one," explained Aaron with a flourish of his Ember tome. "I'll focus on maintaining and manipulating the flame; while the two of you handle the rest,"

"But that'll make you a sitting duck!" growled Wil with clenched fists. "You won't be able to use your sword to defend yourself!"

"And?"

"What do you 'and'‽"

"Just sounds like old times to me," laughed Mathew as he twirled his dagger about and then sheathed it an instant. "Except; this time around; it won't be our beloved Lady Lyndis looking after our dear old Mark!"

"Aaron!"

"I don't like it, but you make a good point. A point that I don't like; but a point still," grumbled Wil as he withdrew his bow from his back. "Whatever. I guess it can't be helped. And as Matthew said, it's not like this is something that we haven't done before. Indeed! This is what Lyndis Legion is all about!"

"Well, the fire is just one part of the plan. Now here is the rest of it..." started Aaron as he gesture for Matthew and Wil to come down from the hill and hear him out...

* * *

Luke and Roderick were having a bad day. Well, Roderick was having a bad day. Luke, on the other hand, was having a wonderful day. While Roderick was anxious about Luke and his situation, being trapped within a village that was surrounded by invisible foes with no desire or intent other than to kill and kill some more, Luke was positively giddy with excitement. Luke couldn't wait to battle the invisibles, while Roderick dreaded the eventuality. Or rather, the inevitability. The village had the supplies to endure a siege, but it did not have a wall that could withstand any kind of siege at all. While the wall may have been tough enough to not go down easily, it was no tough enough to not go down at all. Unlike the castle's walls, eventually, the invisibles' axes would chop a way in. And when that happened...

"Hey Roderick! Come ere! You've gotta get a look at this!"

"Oh no," gulped Roderick as he burst into a sprint towards the direction of Luke's yell. Not long after, Roderick caught sigh of Luke standing atop the roof of a house and quickly used a ladder to make his way to Luke. Subsequently, as soon as he was atop the house, Roderick caught sight of something...

"Aaron, this is insane!"

"Shut up and keep shooting!"

"Wahahaaa!"

"Whoa! Steady er Matthew! Keep her steady!"

"Apologies!"

"And you keep shooting!"

"I'm not trained for this!"

"Neither am I!"

"Nor me!"

"That's not comforting!"

...odd.

"Look at them fellas!" laughed Roderick as he pointed at Aaron, Matthew and Wil. Much to Luke's amusement and Roderick's disbelief; Aaron, Matthew, and Wil were riding an invisible horse across the castellany and wreaking havoc among the horde of invisibles that were marching and positioned throughout the castellany. Matthew was using the invisible horse's reins to guide the invisible horse, Aaron was maintaining a fireball with his right hand and doing _something_ magical with his left hand, and Wil was rapidly sniping the invisibles with his bow and arrows and occasionally alighting hordes of the invisibles aflame by igniting the tip of an arrow with Aaron's fireball and then firing the arrow at a patch of dry and highly flammable grass. "Aww man! They're stealing our thunder!"

"No..." murmured Roderick as he studied Aaron, Matthew, and Wil's movements and tactics and realized something. He then looked up and into the air and smirked at what he saw.

"...they're making a distraction of themselves! Quick! Rally the villagers! It's time we made our escape!"

* * *

 "Uh, Aaron?" eep'ed Wil as Aaron, Matthew, and him were enshrouded by a bat-like shadow. "We may have a problem,"

"Shit! It's a wyvern!" exclaimed Matthew as the shadow grew larger and larger and as a wyvern descended upon Aaron, Matthew, Wil, and their invisible horse. Immediately afterward, with a roar, the wyvern exhaled a line of fire towards the trio and their horse. "Shit, shit, shit!"

"Ember!" exclaimed Aaron as he tossed his fireball at the incoming line of fire. Subsequently; as the fireball and line collided against one another; Aaron, Matthew, and Wil winced as the fireball and line exploded and the three of them were singed by the heat and light of that explosion. "Damn! That was close! Too close!"

"Wil! Shoot it down!" demanded Matthew as he directed the invisible horse into a turn around a hill and away from an incoming horde of cavaliers on the charge. "Now! Shoot it now!"

"I'm trying!" explained Wil as he fired arrow after arrow at the wyvern, yet failed to so much as scratch the wyvern due to the fact that his arrows were being deflected by what appeared to be a magical barrier. "But the rider appears to be equipped with a Delphi Shield!"

"Oh that is some bulllsh-"

"Here comes the second wave!" yelled Aaron as the wyvern inhaled air into nose and then exhaled yet another line of fire out of its mouth! However; this time around; the wyvern aimed the line ahead of Aaron, Matthew, and Wil instead of at Aaron, Matthew, and Wil. Consequently, the wyvern ignited the path ahead of the trio and thereby caused the invisible horse to begin carrying the trio straight towards a bonfire's worth of burning grass!

"Hang! On! Tight!" ordered Matthew an instant before he spurred the invisible horse into a leap. Subsequently; as the invisible horse leapt high into the air and far enough over the burning grass to prevent the trio from being exposed to the brunt of the burning grass' heat; Matthew burst into a laugh of excitement while Aaron and Wil burst into a scream of fear. "Wahahaaa!"

"Wil!" screamed Aaron as the invisible landed atop a hill and then avoided yet another line of fire from the wyvern by leaping over to the top of another hill. "The nose!"

"Got it!" wheezed Wil in-between attempts to cough all of the smoke out of his lungs. Immediately afterward, as the wyvern inhaled air into its nose, Aaron used his Ember tome to generate a fireball and then Wil used the fireball to ignite the tip of an arrow. Wil then wasted no time in drawing the fire arrow along the bowstring of his Steel Bow and then loosing the fire arrow as soon as he reached a full draw! "Hasta la vista..."

"Where or whom are you learning these things from‽"

"...baby!" screamed Wil as the fire arrow soared through the air and straight into the wyvern's nose! Immediately afterward, the Wyvern expanded like a pufferfish and then popped like a ballon as it exploded into a short-lived yet calamitous cyclone of fire and flesh! Subsequently, as Matthew and Wil cheered at the wyvern's demise, Aaron put his tome away and took a hold of his Slim Sword as...

"ARYARGHA!"

...the wyvern's rider hurtled out of the cyclone and straight towards Aaron, Matthew, and Wil!

"Oh damn!" swore Matthew as the wyvern rider used his hurtle to swing his poleax at Wil. "Wil!"

"Ahh!" screamed Wil as he closed his eyes in preparation for the worst. Subsequently, after a second or two, Wil eased his eyes opened and then gawked at the short-lived sight of naught but a single half of the wyvern rider. "What in the-"

"Sword beats axe," said Aaron as he returned his Slim Sword to its scabbard and then snatched his Ember tome out of his knapsack. "Wil! Back to work!"

"Wow!" exclaimed Wil in disbelief as Aaron tossed a diminutive but explosive fireball at a group of cavaliers in order to break the cavaliers' formation and as he began to snipe the cavaliers down one by one. "When did you become such a swordsman‽"

"This year," answered Aaron with a smirk. Aaron then looked up and sighed at the disappearance of the letters that he had been using his left hand to maintain. "I hope they saw it; cause now that my concentration on it has been broken; I doubt I can whip up another while riding around like this,"

"It couldn't he helped," sighed Matthew as he urged the invisible horse up a hill and into a leap over a squad of soldiers. Subsequently, right after the invisible horse landed on the ground and restarted its gallop, Matthew directed the invisible horse into an arc around a bulwark of knights and straight through an off-guard gang of brigands and fighters. "It was either the message or Wi-"

"ARYARGHA!"

"No  _fucking_  way!" swore Matthew as Aaron, Wil, and him looked over their shoulders and caught sight of the torso of the wyvern rider flying through the air with its poleaxe in its right hand and its Delphi Shield in its left hand. "How is that thing still alive‽"

"That's not a wyvern rider!" exclaimed Aaron as the so-called wyvern rider opened its mouth and then began to generate what looked to be a miniature sun within its mouth! "That's a _Malig Knight_!"

"ARYARGHA!" shrieked the Malig Knight as it launched its minisun into a whirl towards the trio! As the minisun whirled towards trio like a spinning top, Aaron was quick to generate an explosive fireball and then lug the fireball at the minisun. However, in stark contrast to Aaron's expectations, the fireball did not collide into and explode upon the minisun. Instead, it flew into and was subsumed by the minisun.

"Matthew! Cheese it!" screamed Aaron as the minisun hastened its whirl towards Matthew, Wil, and him. As soon as Aaron scream reached his ears, Matthew wasted no time in using a lash of the reins and a spur to prompt the invisible horse into the fastest gallop that it could manage. Subsequently; as the invisible horse began to run fast enough to blur Aaron, Matthew, and Wil's vision with naught but the air that they were being carried through; Aaron, Matthew, and Wil began to find it difficult to remain atop of the horse. "Ahhh!"

"Wahahaaa!" laughed Matthew at the sight of _knights_  — of all people — being knocked into the air and to the side by naught but the sheer force of the invisible horse's charge and gallop. However, not long after, Matthew was quick to stop laughing when the invisible horse began to _run up a hill_. "Oh no,"

"Maaattthhheeewww! Wwwiiilll!" screamed Aaron as the invisible horse ran up and _over_ the hill and into the air. High into the air. High enough to give Aaron, Matthew, and Will a good view of the entire castellany!" Bbbrrraaaccceee yyyooouuurrrssseeelllvvveeesss!"

"ARYARGHA!" screamed the Malig Knight as it used a point of its poleaxe to direct its minisun into the air and towards the trio and their invisible horse. At the first, as its minisun rose towards the trio and their invisible horse, the Malig Knight was guffawing in celebration of its victory over the trio. However, as soon as its invisible sun was eclipsed by a humanoid silhouette, the Malig Knight screeched like a little girl and then turned around with the intent of running away. "ARYARGHA!"

"Oh no you don't!" heard the Malig Knight an instant before it right arm was nailed to a nearby hill by an arrow! Less than a second later, the Malig Knight's other arm was nailed to the ground by yet another arrow and so — in order to see the one responsible for its incapacitation — the Malig Knight was force to turn its head all the way around in the manner of an owl. "Haha! Gotcha"

"Aryargha‽" questioned the Malig Knight at the sight if an airborne Wil! Unbeknowst to the Malig Knight, in order to make the invisible horse drop faster and thereby cause the minisun to miss the invisible horse, Aaron and Wil had kicked off the invisible horse and into the air. Subsequently, Aaron had dropped in front of the minisun and eclipsed it. While Wil had dropped to the far side of the minisun and thus ininto a good position to snipe the Malig Knight as soon as it made the mistake of lowering its Delphi Shield in fear!

"This time..." growled Aaron as he dropped from the air and into a downward slash of his Slim Sword which bisected both the Malig Knight's head and the rest of the Malig Knight's toros as well! "...stay dead!"

"Aryar, aryar, aryargha..." cried the Malig Knight as it effervesced into bubbles and then popped into non-existence. Not long after, Wil ran over to where Aaron was and then Matthew came to puck Aaron and Wil up.

"It's a good thing this horse is undead; or it would have tired out a _long_ time ago," noted Matthew as Aaron and Wil hopped atop the invisible horse and the trio got back to riding in order to avoid being overwhelmed and or surrounded by the hordes of invisibles.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" suddenly heard the trio an instant before a knight hurtled past them like a baseball. Subsequently; Aaron, Matthew, and Wil inquisitively raised an eyebrow at the sight of Luke with an Armorslayer in hand. "What do you guys think you're doing‽ Don't you know that _I'm_ the hero of this tale‽ Huh‽ Don't you‽"

"Please forgive my friend's stupidity," asked Roderick as he rode into view with a Spear in hand. "What he means to say is that your efforts have payed off. The villagers are well on their way to the city of Vingolf. The womenfolk there are not accustomed to or appreciative of men, but they are known to make exceptions un times of crisis like this. So the villagers should be fine,"

"A match!" shouted Luke out of nowhere with a flourish of his armorslayer and a then a point of his armorslayer at the trio. "I demand a match! A legendary match to determine whom among us is the _true_ hero!"

"..."

"..."

"...what?"

"As I said; please forgive my friend's stupidity," sighed Roderick with a facepalm and a shake of his head. "Either way, we had best not tarry here. The Clear Ones have began to form ranks and march onward. It would appear that they have grown tired of playing cat and mouse and intend to crush you with overwhelming and well-organized force rather than attempt to catch you,"

"If that is the case, it is indeed time to scram!" agreed Aaron. "But before we go, would you care to join us? We could really use the manpower and mobility,"

"As long as your intention is to deal with this menace and plague..." began Roderick as he outstretched his Spear towards Aaron. "...then absolutely! I would gladly join you!"

"As would I!" exclaimed Luke as he raised his Armorslayer and thereby formed an X with his Armorslayer and Roderick's Spear. "I mean, how else would we compete for the title of hero?"

"Kicking Anankos butt is indeed our goal!" snickered Wil as he whipped out his Steel Bow and raised it with Luke's Armorslayer and Roderick's Spear. "So it's settled!"

"Indeed!" added Matthew as he pointed his Stiletto at Luke's Armorslayer, Roderick's Spear, and Wil's Steel Bow. "It looks like we've got two new members..."

"...for Lyndis Legion," finished Aaron as he added his Slim Sword to Luke's Armorslayer, Matthew's Stiletto, Roderick's Spear, and Wil's Steel Bow. Subsequently, the group of five cheered and then spurred their horses into a gallop towards the setting sun.


	5. Righteousness is not Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Aaron does the right thing. And suffers for it. Greatly.

"I'm going to miss you Sudsy!" cried Luke, Matthew, and Wil as the invisible horse's corpse effervesced into bubbles that were quick to pop into nothingness. As Luke, Matthew, and Will sobbed over the place of the invisible horse's effervescence and vanishment; Aaron and Roderick examined and ruminated on a map of Askr.

"Hmm," hummed Aaron as he eyed the map and then took a look at the dense forest of flowering trees around him and the dirt road beneath him. "This forest..."

"...it's not on the map," continued Roderick with a rub of his chin. "Or rather, more accurately, it can't be any of the forests on the map. As we have yet to ride long enough to reach any of them. And yet..."

"...here we are," finished Aaron. Subsequently, Aaron stood up and then scrutinized the forest. "An enchanted forest that comes and goes as it pleases? Or, perhaps, a trap of Anankos?"

"No way to know for sure," sighed Roderick as he stashed the map away and then stood up as well. "But I fear that we may have waited too long to dispose of that fell steed of yours,"

"It couldn't be helped," said Aaron with a shrug. "We needed it to put as much distance between us and Anankos' forces as possible,"

"I suppose," grumbled Roderick as he withdrew his Spear and then twirled the Spear in hand. "Regardless, as long as we're inside of this uncharted forest, we'll never be able to find our way. So we should leave it as soon as possible,"

"No," disagreed Aaron with a shake of his hand. "Anankos is crazy and stubborn. So I have no doubt that he has yet to give up his pursuit of us. As such; if we turn around and try to find a way around this forest; Anankos' forces will catch up to us and we will die," asserted Aaron with a clench of his right hand into a fist. "It's dangerous and foolhardy. I know that, but I also know how thin of a line we are treading on here. We have horses, sure. But, without Sudsy..."

"Sudsy!"

"Why Sudsy‽ Why did you have to die‽"

"Come back to us Sudsy!"

"...it's four people to two horses. Two _living_ horses," noted Aaron with downcast eyes. "In comparison, Anankos has a cavalry's worth of undead riders atop of undead steeds. And said steeds are not limited to undead horses like Sud..."

"Sssuuudddsssyyy!"

"Sudsy! Sudsy!"

"Your undeath shall be avenged!"

"...sy, but also undead pegasi and undead wyverns as well!" continued Aaron with a gesture at the sky above. "So trust me when I say that Anankos' forces are more than capable of running us down and then running us through! That is why I wanted to take this back road rather than the cobblestone street to town. Though I did not know it would take us through this forest, I did know that it would lead us to an old mine. With our head start, I was hoping we could reach the mine before Anankos reached us and then lose Anankos in the tunnels," explained Aaron as he took his eyes away from his surroundings and returned them to Roderick. "This forest is a nuisance, but it could be of great help as well. In here, in order to pursue us, the cavalry will have to split up. While the pegasi and wyverns won't be able to pursue us at all," continued Aaron with a point towards the dirt road beneath Roderick and him. "Not to mention, though the forest may be out of place, this dirt road is not. By all appearances, it seems to be the dirt road leading to the mine. If we are going to have any chance of escaping Anankos' wrath, we must follow this dirt road to the old mine! That is a must! So, whether we like it or not, we kinda have to..."

"...brave this forgotten forest?" finished with clenched teeth and a tight grip on his Spear. "Tch!"

"I know it's scary. Marching through a forest that, by all accounts, doesn't exist! But just remember that being run down by undead cavalries of horses, pegasi, and wyverns is much scarier!" advised Aaron naught but an instant before he heard a caw. And then many caws! Of what seemed to be thousands of crows! Caws that boom throughout the forest like a clap of thunder! And caws that shook the forest like a bout of earthquakes! "Uhh..."

"You were saying‽" screamed Roderick in a futile attempt to be heard over the caws. Immediately afterward; a murder of crows swarmed out of the forest and into a circle around Aaron, Luke, Matthew, Roderick, and Will. As it did so, Roderick was quick to react with violence! "What manner of sorcery is this? To arms! To arms-"

"No!" ordered Aaron in a scream and with a wave of his arms. "Belay that order and _lower_ your arms!"

"Are you mad‽" asked Roderick as Matthew dropped his Stiletto onto the ground and Matthew put aside his bow and arrows. "Are you all mad‽"

"Rody, please!" begged Aaron as he stabbed the blade of his Slim Sword into the ground and then tossed aside his knapsack. "Trust me!"

"Alright!" laughed Luke as he swung his Armorslayer into a tree and then crossed his arms without so much as an inkling of fear on his face. "Not like it matters! Even without mah Armorslayer, I can handle a few measly birds!"

"They're not birds," retorted Aaron as Roderick hesitantly dropped his Spear onto the ground. Immediately afterward, the largest of the crows flew out of the murder and into the air above Aaron, Luke, Matthew, Roderick, and Will.  Subsequently, the crow furled its wings around itself and then unfurled its wings to reveal a black winged elf rather than a crow. The elf exhibited a lofty height and an lean yet muscular physique. His complexion was as pale as the full moon and his facial features were as sharp the blade of a killing edge. His navy blue hair was tied into a ponytail, while his steel blue eyes were glued onto Aaron. His brows were furrowed, and his mouth was in a disquieting frown. With naught but a wave of his hand, he silenced the rest of the crows. Immediately afterward, he allowed himself to slowly but surely fall to an elevation where Aaron, Luke, Matthew, Roderick, and Will did not have to strain their necks to look up at him. "They're laguz!"

"Oh? Laguz? Not sub-human?" asked the elf as he easily kept himself afloat in the air with naught but an occasional flap of his black and feathery wings. "How very interesting. You're either kind or wise. Or both. Which is odd. Cause I did not think the beorc to be capable of either of those traits,"

"Naesala, King of Kilvas, to what or whom..." began Aaron with a clumsy and oafish bow, eliciting a snicker from Wil as he did so. After he silenced Wil with a elbow to Wil's hip, Aaron returned his attention to Naesala and continued where he left off. "...do I owe this honor?"

"You recognize me?" asked Naesala. Immediately afterward, the Raven King deepened his frown into a scowl. "Then you, like us, are not from this world. You are from our world. You're a beorc true. Which is odd. Cause you certainly do not behave like a beorc..."

"What is a beorc?" asked Matthew in a whisper. "And a laguz?"

"I'll explain later," answered Aaron. He then returned to his conversation with Naesala. "King Kilvas. I'm sorry to say that my friends and I may have just accidentally brought a war to your doorsteps,"

"Excuse me?" asked Naesala in what started as a shout but was quickly changed into an indoor voice. "I mean, what?"

"To make a long story short, we are being pursued by an army of invisible zombies. Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous. But-"

"I believe you,"

"Wh-wh-what?" spluttered Aaron with a look of incredulity on his face. "Come again? You what?"

"I believe you," repeated Naesala with a roll of his eyes. "We have dealt with the invisibles before, so I know exactly what you're talking about. That is why I believe you,"

"Oh. Well then-"

"But what I don't believe..." interjected Naesala as he allowed himself to drop to the ground and then strolled up to Aaron with glaring eyes and a scowling mouth. "Is that you brought the invisibles here by accident! I think you did it on purpose. In order to use us as a distraction while you escape,"

"I understand why you may think that..." began Aaron with a lean away from Naesala. "...but we didn't even know that this forest existed before we got here, much less that it was inhabited by the Raven Tribe. Our goal was to follow this dirt road to a mine and then lose the invisibles in the tunnels. In no way did we intend to-"

"Regardless of whether you intended to or not..." spat Naesala as he turned his back to Aaron and walked a bit away from Aaron. "...you still have brought a plague upon my house!"

"Yes," admitted Aaron without defense or fanfare. "Yes **I** did,"

"Hmm?"

"It was my decision to follow this road to the mine, so it was me who caused this chain of events. The invisibles will be coming here because of me, not my comrades. So if there is to be pun-"

"Absolutely not!" interjected Wil with a stomp of his foot. Wil then wasted no time in pulling Aaron into his arms and then protectively clinging onto Aaron, much to Aaron's dismay and embarrassment. "No way! Never! Not going to happen! You hear me‽ Not going to happen! Ever!"

"Agreed," said Matthew as he used a roll to seamlessly and quickly both recover his Stilleto and move to Wil's side. "There will be no punishments dealt and no sacrifices made!"

"Damn straight!" laughed Luke as he took a firm hold of his Armorslayer's handle and then — with naught but a one-arm swing — cleaved the blade of his Armorslayer through the tree that he had embedded it within. Immediately afterward, as the top half of the aforementioned tree toppled to the ground, Luke rested the blade of the Armorslayer atop of his right shoulder and then whistled for his horse as he walked up to Matthew and Wil were shielding Aaron. "And anyone who disagrees will have to go through me, Luke the Hero!"

"It as they say!" exclaimed Roderick as he used a stomp to flip his Spear into the air. Immediately afterward, Roderick snatched his Spear out of the air and then got into formation with the others. "I'm sorry, but king or not, we're going to have to draw the line there!"

"Well somebody is popular," snickered Naesala at the sight of Aaron's embarrassment and his comrades' protectiveness. "But you are all getting worked up over nothing. Revenge is a sucker's game, and I am no sucker. Harming or killing any of you will not benefit me or my people in the slightest. But arming you on the other hand..." said Naesala as a weary-looking crow flew out of the murder and then landed as an old man rather than as a crow. Subsequently, the old man unfurled his wings and revealed a sword that Aaron was able to recognize on sight. "...could be beneficial,"

"Yato," whispered Aaron in disbelief at the sight of the Yato, the strongest of the Five Fangs of the Rainbow Sage. Immediately afterward, much to Aaron's surprise, the Yato flew out of the old man's hands and into a float in front of Aaron. As if it was waiting for Aaron to claim it. "H-h-huh? What is it..."

"We did not detect your presence in this forest; that sword did," explained Naesala with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We came to you because it lead us to you. Its chosen wielder I presume,"

"How did you? Where did you..." asked Aaron as Wil released him. "...why did you?"

"As you probably know; this forest is unnatural," began Naesala with a sigh of exhaustion? Exasperation? Both? "It's Serenes Forest. The Serenes Forest. Withdrawn from its place in Tellius and deposited here in Zenith..."

"...as a place of training!" cried the old man, Nealuchi, with a throw of his arms and a stomp of his foot. "And torment!"

"Those invisibles. They strengthen themselves by coming here to slay us," continued Naesala with a lowered head and clenched fists. "They sneak in from time to time, kill as many as they can, and teleport away as soon as more of us than what they can handle arrives to help. My people live in constant fear of being murdered a random! To make matters worse, not even death will release us from our torment. As we all respawn in this hellhole as soon as we die!"

"We sought a means to return the Serenes Forest and its ravens to Tellius or at least a means to slay the one responsible for those invisibles!" sobbed Nealuchi with a gesture towards the Yato. "And we came upon that sword. That katana. A man calling himself the Rainbow Sage told us that, in the hands of its chosen wielder, that sword could slay the master of those invisibles! And free of us from this accursed existence!"

"But none of us were chosen by it," snarled Naesala in discontent. "And so, because we could only stray so far from the Serenes Forest without being magically returned to its center, we had no choice but to await and hope for the arrival of its chosen wielder,"

"You," said Nealuchi with a point towards Aaron. "You are the one. The chosen wielder of this sword! It glowed and song at your approach and awaits your grasp! Take it! Wield it! Swing it! Smite the Invisible Master with that blade and free use from this curse!"

"Yes, yes old man. Him. A _beorc_ ," grumbled Naesala as he directed a glower at Aaron. "You seem to be from Tellius as well, so you know the score between beorc and laguz. As such, you can probably understand why I decided to blackmail or guilt trip you into confronting Anankos. Or perhaps take a hostage,"

"Really nestling. You are far too quick to resort to such dark and lowly measures," scolded Nealuchi with a tap of a staff. "Shame on you!"

"And who, exactly, is one who taught me to use such methods‽"

"That's not important,"

"The hell it isn't!" exclaimed Naesala in a snarl. Naesala and Nealuchi would have began an argument then and there, if Aaron had not distracted them from doing so with a cough. "Hm?"

"I can't take-"

"No, no, no!" interjected Naesala with a teacher-like wag of his finger. "We are  **NOT** having this conversation!"

"But-"

"No buts!" snapped Naesala. "I don't give a damn about your reservations or self-esteem. Don't think you're the chosen one? Well too bad. The sword does. And that is all that matters! Don't feel worthy? Who cares‽ Neither I nor the sword, that's for sure! Don't feel that you're up to the task? Well tough shit. Welcome to royalty!" 

"This is Corrin's-"

"It _was_ Corrin's!" corrected Naesala as he flashed into an arc around the Yato and behind Aaron. Immediately afterward, Naesala began to push Aaron towards the floating Yato. "But _now_ it's yours! Take it and kick the shit out of that Invisible Master so we can go home already!"

" _I've already taken Mark's identity..._ " thought Aaron as he struggled — in vain — against Naesala's attempt to literally push him into claiming the Yato. " _Am I to now claim Corrin's identity as well? And then Robin's identity? Chris' identity?_ "

 

 

"Just take the damn sword!" demanded Naesala as he finished pushing Aaron as close to the Yato as he could. "Come on!"

" _I can't do this,_ " thought Aaron as he gazed upon the Yato. " _I can't **keep** doing this. I can't keep acting like I am someone I am not! I am not Corrin! I am not Mark! I am..._ "

" **...Aaron!** "

"What‽" exclaimed Aaron in surprise as the Yato called out to him, out loud! Needless to say, Aaron was not the only one whom had been spooked by the Yato. Naesala and Nealuchi; as well as Luke, Matthew, Roderick, and Will; were all startled as well.

" **Aaron! You are Aaron, one of this world's two borrowed Children of Earth!** " exclaimed the Yato. Subsequently, Aaron and the Yato began to glow. And then, immediately afterward, Aaron and the Yato arose into the sky like a rocket flying off to space.

"Aaron!" screamed Matthew and Wil with an outstretched arm and opened hand as Aaron and the Yato arose out of their sight. "No! Aaron! Aaarrrooonnn!"

* * *

 

"Gak! Heights! Not heights! Anything but heights!" screamed Aaron as he flailed about in midair to no avail or effect. Meanwhile, the Yato realigned and repositioned itself so that its blade was pointing towards the ground and its cross guard was level with Aaron's eyes. "Put me down! Put me down! Please, please, please put me down!"

" **Aaron!** " snapped the Yato like an irate mother. As it did so, the Yato frightened Aaron into silence. Subsequently, the Yato began to circle around and speak to Aaron. " **Though you have not done as I thought or wished, Aaron!** "

"Wh-wh-who-"

" **I am what you thought I was,** " answered the Yato with a spin. " **I am Yato. The Yato. The Fifth and Final Fang of the First Dragon known as the Rainbow Sage!** "

"I didn't know that the Yato could-"

" **Of course you did not know,** " snorted Yato. Somehow. But then again. If it could speak. Why not snort? " **You know only what your game, your toy, has allowed you to know. You know the story, but you do not know the history. The details,** "

"Well that's all cool and dandy, but could you maybe return us to-"

" **The information that I am about to share with you is confidential and sensitive. And the topic that we are about to discuss is not for their ears,** " answered the Yato in a huff. " **Do not complain! Tis none but your own fault that this situation has come about. If you had but accepted the place I made for you, this would not have become necessary!** "

"The place that you made-"

" **You are not Mark,** " explained the Yato as it cut off Aaron, again.

" **So it's true,** " murmured Aaron with downcast eyes and a lowered head. " **They are deceived. I really am nothing more than a stranger to them. Our camaraderie, our friendship, is a fake. An illusion. A masquerade,** "

" **Correct,** " said the Yato. Flatly. And without emotion. Worsening Aaron's souring mood as it did so. " **You are not Lyndis Legion. You are just a man who used to play with toys when he was a boy,** "

"Then why..?" asked Aaron with quivering eyes and clenched teeth. "...why do they believe me to be their Mark‽"

" **Because I made them believe so,** " answered the Yato " **In order to provide you with comrades, I made them see you as whom you had played at being. I gave you and them the relationship that you had on that toy of yours. I gave-** "

"You **BRAINWASHED** them!" interjected Aaron in a snap which caught the Yato off guard. "You tampered with their feelings and memories! Damn you! Damn you to the coldest or hottest pits of hell! Whichever you least prefer!"

" **I GAVE YOU AN ARMY ON A SILVER PLATTER!** " screamed the Yato in a billion voices that each boomed like thunder! " **And you rejected it! Scorned it! Kept your distance like some introverted schoolboy!** "

"Why?" asked Aaron in a growl. "Why did you bring-"

" **I CHOSE you,** " corrected the Yato in a growl of its own. " **I did not BRING you here. Your arrival to Zenith is a mystery that even I have yet to solve,** "

"What?" spluttered Aaron in disbelief. "You, didn't? Excuse me, but what‽"

" **Like your other, Kiran, you are a Child of Earth. As such, you are unbound by the laws and rules of Zenith. And so, for that reason and that reason alone, I chose you. Rather than await the summoning of my true wielder, Corrin, I chose you as an alternative,** " explained Yato with a spin here and a tilt there, bewildering Aaron with its expressiveness as it did so. " **But of course, unlike my Corrin and Kamui, you were neither fit nor worthy of being my wielder. You had neither the ability nor the potential to slay Anankos. And so, I decided to group you with those whom COULD,** "

"So that's it," murmured Aaron as it all began to make sense to him. "You wanted to stop Anankos, but Corrin — or is it Kamui? — wasn't here to wield you against Anankos. And so, you resorted to using me as a backup wielder. You modified the Blazing Swords' memories in order to make them believe that I was Mark, because you thought that I would jump at the chance of being Mark. You thought that I would join the Blazing Swords and then lead them against Anankos, but I didn't. Instead, I ran. I ran away from this unfamiliar world. Or, at the very least, I tried. I did not seek out the Blazing Swords. I avoided them. And I did not confront Anankos as you had hoped I would. In fact. I didn't even know he was here until..."

" **...until I arranged for Matthew and Will to bring you into conflict with him,** " finished the Yato in a softer tone than usual. " **At which point, I thought that I had secured your cooperation. Wil seemed to have brought you around to the idea that you were, indeed, Mark. But, in truth, he had not. He had simply prolonged the inevitable. Your inevitably rejection of the destiny that I have worked so hard to bring into fruition!** "

" _So that is how it is,_ " thought Aaron as he warily eyed the Yato and then sighed. " _This is how it is. As to be expected, I am just a pawn. A tool. An instrument of fate,_ "

"I understand," began Aaron as he took a deep breath and then took the Yato's handle into his grasp. "Anankos has to be stopped. And you can stop him. So, I will wield you. However; in exchange; you must release the Blazing Swords from your brainwashing and machinations,"

" **If I were to do that, then you would have to fight Anankos by-** "

"That is my condition!" snapped Aaron in a yell that rivaled Yato's own. "It is my one-and-only demand! Which I will **NOT** be negotiating! Take it or leave it!"

"... **FINE** ," said Yato. Then, out of nowhere, Aaron changed. He kept his t-shirt, jeans, and boots. But he lost the hood and robe that **Mark** ed — heh, heh — him as a tactician. However, in exchange, he gained a pair of pauldrons that had a rather snazzy cape elongating from them. And he also gained a scabbard for the Yato as well. " **It is done,** "

"Well that was an anticlimactic let-down,"

" **And now you know how I feel about you,** "

"Ouch," chuckled Aaron as the Yato lowered the two of them into Serenes Forest. However, in stark contrast to Aaron's expectations, the Yato did not lower the two of them to where everyone else were. Instead, it lowered them to...

...the entrance of the mine.

" **In accordance to your conditions for our coalition against Anankos, I have undone my work on the Blazing Swords. As such, they remember Mark as Mark rather than as you. And since they are unlikely to be happy about your masquerade as their comrade and friend, and you have yet to fulfill your end of our bargain, I thought it wise to not return you to them,** " explained the Yato as the light around Aaron and it began to grow dimmer and dimmer. " **Unfortunately, it would appear that my time has come to an end. The Rainbow Sage gave me the capacity to speak and think when in search of a wielder. As such, now that I have found my wielder...** "

"...you can speak or think no more," finished Aaron as the Yato went quiet and as he found himself alone. Not by himself. But alone. Truly alone. By his hand, all of the connections between the Blazing Sword and him had been cut. Severed. There was nothing between them now. Nothing but the truth of his deception and lies. Aaron was tough. Really tough. But still. Even still. He cried. As he sheathed the Yato in its scabbard and made his way into the mine. Aaron could not help but to cry.

It had been fun while it lasted.


	6. A New Beginning

The mine was dark. And damp. And cramp. And its ceiling was low. Even for Aaron. Whose height was naught but a measly 5'8". Yet, in spite of all that, it was comfortable. To Aaron at least. Because it was quiet. Not too quiet. Or eerily quiet. Just quiet.

The silence. It soothed Aaron. Calmed him. Like a lullaby. If Aaron were anywhere but within a mine, Aaron would have fallen asleep. But he was in a mine. And he was kind of in a hurry. So, despite his yearning to do so, Aaron did not fall asleep. Instead, he pressed on. He crawled and squeezed his way through tunnels that he could barely fit in, and he tiptoed his way through caverns that were around the size of an auditorium.

Eventually, after about two to three hours of travel, Aaron came upon a tunnel with a bright hole in its ceiling. With some difficulty, Aaron managed to climb up to and out of the hole. And as Aaron did so, he exited the mine and found himself in the middle of copse of trees which were blossoming with white plumerias.

The Plumerian Grove.

“What kind of mine leads to a place like this?” wondered Aaron as he brushed himself clean of as much dirt and dust as he could. Subsequently, Aaron took a look around his surroundings. He admired the plumerias with a look of awe and wonder on his face. He smiled at the grassy and occasionally flowery hills that surrounded the copse. And then he sighed in relief at the sight of a town in the distance.

Without Roderick’s map, Aaron had no way to determine his location. And no way to plot a route to his penultimate destination, the twin cities of Andlang and Vidblainn. Where he could procure aid against Anankos and have a message of warning sent to the capital and the Order of Heroes. Thus, with the goal of getting his hands on a map, Aaron began to make his way to town.

In stark contrast to Aaron’s expectations, the walk to town was peaceful and uneventful. A bit too peaceful. And way too uneventful. There were no confrontations with marauders or monsters. And there were no encounters with any of the locals or even a traveler. At first, Aaron figured that maybe — just maybe — it was too early in the morning for anyone to be up and about. In spite of the fact that it was the afternoon. And nearing sunset. Even still. Aaron figured. Until, that is, he actually reached the town.

“My God,” whispered Aaron with a shiver in his spine and a wobble in his knees. Before Aaron was, well, nothing. Absolutely nothing. Well, there was something. Objects. Only objects. There were buildings and other structures. There were a few carriages about. Benches, chairs, and other seats. Streets paved with cobblestones. Boxes and crates of one thing or another. A few stalls. And more. Of objects. Just objects. Things. Items. There were no animals. There were no people. The town was devoid of life.

"What happened here?" asked Aaron of no one in particular as he wandered throughout the town in search of the cause of the town's abandonment. Aaron was savvy enough to know that he should probably get as far away from the town as he could while he still had the ability and chance to do so. As Aaron was fully away of how curiosity had killed the cat. Unfortunately, because of recent events, self-preservation was no longer one of Aaron's priorities. Consequently, Aaron was not at all concerned with how dangerous and reckless of an idea it was to search through an abandoned town for whatever or whomever caused the town to be abandoned in the first place.

To make matters worse, Aaron was spoiling for a fight.  Which he got. Unfortunately for Aaron, it was not a fight against someone or even something. But a fight against an urge. An urge to vomit as he found the cause of the town's abandonment at the very center of its town square.

 

A pyre.

 

An enormous pyre which was around the size of an adult elephant. A pyre that was covered with and surrounded by ash. And remnants. Like fragments of burned cloth. Embers of shoes. Big and small. And charred scraps of flesh. Such as limbs. Eyes. And more. Much more. Too much more. Aaron could not take it. He lost the fight. He threw up. And then threw up again. He heaved and hurled and vomited. Until there was nothing left in his stomach for him to upchuck.

It was at this point that a powerful guilt swept over Aaron. A remorse. A deep regret about his ingratitude, his lack of an appreciation, for his life. After a wipe of his mouth and a clench of his fists, Aaron steeled himself and then gazed upon the pyre once more. Aaron examined the pyre as well as he possibly could and remembered as much as he possibly could. He remembered the ashes. The bones. The flesh and the other remnants as well. He remembered the horror that the pyre had instilled within him, and he remembered the lesson that the pyre had taught him. But most of all, more than anything else, he remembered who was responsible. He remembered the metal stake that was sticking out of the pyre. And he remembered the flag that was attached to end of that metal stake. A flag that was flapping in the wind. _Proudly_. As if it had no atrocities or wrongdoings to its name. As if it was just and true. As if it was right.

 

The flag of _Muspell_.

 

“After Anankos..." began Aaron as he turned away from the pyre with a new sense of mettle and resolve. "...I'm coming for you, Surtr!"

 

Immediately afterward, Aaron got to work.

First, he scoured the town for the map that he needed. After about an hour or two of rummaging through crates and searching through shops, Aaron found what he had been looking for. Well, actually, Aaron found something that was better than what he had been looking for. Much better. Not just a map, but an entire book of maps. An atlas. One that was in good condition and up to date. Or so Aaron thought. Honestly, Aaron could not tell. He did not have enough familiarity with Zenithian geography to determine if any map of Zenith was up to date or not, and he did not know enough about Zenith's system of dating and time to determine if the date on the atlas was recent or not. But the map _looked_ new. So Aaron figured that it was new.

Next, Aaron got himself another weapon. Though Aaron may have agreed to wield the Yato, Aaron did not agree to wield the Yato _in battle_. And Aaron had no intention of doing so, as Aaron did not trust the Yato. To Aaron, he was not the Yato’s chosen. He was the Yato’s replacement. As such, Aaron was not comfortable with the idea of becoming dependent on the Yato. As the Yato could — and probably would — leave him as soon as Corrin or Kamui was summoned, and Corrin and Kamui could be summoned at any time. Even during the middle of a fight! So Aaron decided to replace the Slim Sword that he had left behind with something other than the Yato. At first, Aaron was going to get a sword. However, as soon as he caught sight of a Bolt Axe in the window of the local armory, Aaron changed his mind.

"Oh fuck the hell yes," moaned Aaron as he grasped the Bolt Axe's shaft with his right hand and then raised the Bolt Axe overhead. As Aaron did so, a thought occurred to him. An important thought about something that Aaron had failed to consider until now.

 

Could his new class even wield the Bolt Axe? Or _any_ axe for that matter?

 

"Do I even have a class? Or was that just a game mechanic with no place or presence in this reality?" wondered Aaron as he admired the Bolt Axe. Subsequently, Aaron twirled the Bolt Axe in hand and then swung the Bolt Axe in the direction of a carriage with the intent of striking the carriage with a bolt of lightning...

 

...only to be disappointed by the Bolt Axe's lack of response to his intentions. Subsequently; Aaron swung the Bolt Axe at the armory's window and then yelped in surprise as the Bolt Axe bounced off the window and then flew out of his hand and straight towards his face! Fortunately for Aaron, he was able to dodge the Bolt Axe with a backward lean and thereby avoid having the Bolt Axe embeded in his face. Subsequently; Aaron straightened himself, looked over his shoulder, and then grimaced as the sight of the Bolt Axe's embedment within the stone wall of a nearby building.

 

Apparently, it was _not_ just a game mechanic.

 

"Alright," said Aaron in a nervous chuckled as he settled for the disreputable but pragmatic Venin Edge. Immediately afterward, Aaron set out to get himself a new tome. Like the Slim Sword, the Ember tome had served Aaron well. But it was elementary. Weak. Beforehand, Aaron had not considered himself worthy of wielding any sword greater than the Slim Sword and any tome greater than the Ember tome. But now? Now Aaron didn't care. Worthiness was no longer of any concern to Aaron. The only thing that Aaron cared about was utility. The Ember tome did not have the utility to meet Aaron's needs, so the Ember tome had to go.

"This is odd," audibly noted Aaron as he searched a bookstore for a tome, any tome, that he could wield. Much to Aaron's dismay and horror. he could not resonate with any of the runes inscribed upon the pages of any of the tomes within the bookstore. Eventually, about 10 minutes of failure, Aaron gave up on the tomes in the bookstore and tried again with the tomes within a library of sorts. Only to discover that he, once again, could not resonate with any of the tomes' runes. It was at this point that Aaron began to fear the worse. So, with a bit of hesitation, Aaron pulled out his Ember tome and attempted to resonante with its runes.

 

And found that he could not.

 

"My magic is gone," whispered Aaron as he finally began to realize what a class change was. Since the day of his arrival to Zenith, for about a little more than a year, Aaron had been able to use magic. And Aaron had enjoyed his magic. Even while limiting himself to the Ember tome, Aaron had enjoyed his magic. It was convenient, as it made living in the wilds and on the go a lot easier. And, more importantly, it was _fun_. A lot of fun. Adding a bit of pizazz to his dances, juggling fireballs, making firefly-like lights for children to admire and chase after, and performing a light show for his and others' entertainment were just some of the many ways that Aaron had fun with his magic. Indeed, magic had been one of the few things about Zenith that Aaron had loved with a passion and never wanted to be without.

 

And now Aaron _was_ without. Without his magic and without a way to get his magic back.

 

"Fuck you Yato," spat Aaron as he set out to stock up on bandages and vulneraries. And stuff his knapsack with as much food that he could fit in it. After he completed those tasks, Aaron got going. He departed from the town and embarked on a journey to Andlang and Vidblainn. As Aaron did so, he did not look back. Not even once. He marched forward. He let his desire — no — need to kill drive him. Subsequently, as Aaron motivated himself with fantasies and thoughts of Anankos' and Surtr's deaths, the Venin Edge began to perspire with the venom of Aaron's killing intent.

* * *

The next fight came later than Aaron had expected. According to the atlas' maps of Askr, the journey to Andlang and Vidblainn was going to be a long one. A week-long one. As such, Aaron had fully expected to have plenty of random encounters with marauders or monsters or maybe even both at once. As a result, Aaron could not help but to be shocked — and even a little disappointed — by the lack of such obstacles on his path. For as long as 3 days, Aaron was able to travel in peace. It was not until the 4th day that found himself on the battlefield once more. And even then, it was not a battlefield that Aaron could not have avoided. But rather, it was a battlefield that Aaron had chosen to step foot on.

It was early in the morning. Too early for Aaron's tastes. Had Aaron not been awakened by a sudden downpour of rain, Aaron would have been asleep rather than marching down a muddy road with a glower of misery and a frown of aggravation on his face. Needless to say, Aaron was in a bad mood. So, when Aaron caught sight of what looked to be a sexual assault at the bottom of the hill that the road was situated upon, Aaron jumped at the chance to kill a footpad or highwayman or whatever. Literally. As in, he literally jumped off the hill and into a descent towards the would-be rapist.

"What the fu-" was all the rapist got to say before he was prevented from finishing his sentence by a collision between his face and Aaron's boots. Subsequently, as the rapist tumbled onto the ground like a tipped over cow, Aaron was hurtled away from the rapist by the recoil of his jump kick into the rapist's face. Less than a second later, with seemingly no difficulty at all, Aaron landed on his feet in a cat-like manner and then spared a glance at the rapist's victim.

"Life is just full of surprises, huh?" chuckled Aaron to himself as he looked upon a pretty youth whom he recognized as a  _man_ named Forrest. As Aaron did so, Forrest leapt over to a nearby bag and quickly unhooked a Gravity staff from the bag. Immediately afterward, as Forrest's would-be rapist attempted to push himself of the ground, Forrest used the Gravity staff to generate a burst of force which slammed the rapist face-first into the ground! "Nice,"

"Thank you," said Forrest as he used the Gravity staff to emit a current of force that hurled the rapist through the air and then pinned the rapist onto the trunk of a nearby tree. "This is what would have happened from the start if the bastard had not caught me sleeping!"

" _Pretty and strong. If he was bi or gay, I'd totally be in love,_ " thought Aaron as the rapist began to struggle — in vain — against the force of the Gravity staff.

"Who do you think you are? What chance do you think you have against me?" snarled the rapist as he pushed and strained himself to overcome the force of the Gravity staff. To no avail. Aaron would have been impressed with the rapist's spirit and tenacity, if the rapist was not — well — a _rapist_. "I am Glass! The gods fear my name! My swordplay is peerless! When I get down from here, I'm gonna chop you up and then plunge my cock into whatever's left of your corpse!"

"Oh my God," gasped Aaron in response to the rapist's identity rather than the rapist's words. The rapist was Glass. _The_ Glass. A joke of a boss whose arrogance and overconfidence was second to none but Batta the Beast himself. How? How was this guy in Zenith? What part of him earned him the title of hero? Cause it sure wasn't his ethics or morality. And it definitely wasn't his swordsmanship. "I can't believe this,"

"Whether you believe it or not-"

"Goodbye," snorted Forrest as he used the Gravity staff to sink Glass's head and torso into the trunk of the tree. Immediately afterward, Forrest used the Gravity staff to bend a bit of the tree's trunk and thereby warp that bit of the tree's trunk into a gnarl which was wrapped around Glass' chest and mouth. As a result, Forrest managed to gag and tie up Glass with the gnarl and thereby bind and silence Glass. Subsequently, as the bounded and silenced Glass bombarded Aaron and Forrest with a shit-ton's worth of muffled screams and muted speeches, Forrest stuck his tongue out at Glass and then turned his attention to Aaron. Without ado, Forrest gave Aaron a curtsy and then a smile. Both of which caused Aaron's heart to skip a beat. "Thanks for the help. I _really_ appreciate it. The name is Forrest by the way,"

"I'm Aaron," said Aaron without fanfare or gestures, eliciting a giggle from Forrest as he did so. A giggle that Aaron questioned with a raise of his eyebrow. "And it was no problem,"

"Yet," sighed Forrest with a point towards a scabbard and sword that was hooked to Glass' belt. "The insignia on that scabbard is that of Ikanau's Gang. A bandit who is pretty infamous around these parts for his vindictiveness. Whenever one of his boys goes missing or turns up dead, he always goes on a rampage. _Always_ ," explained Forrest as he gathered his things — a lovely-looking bag that the Gravity staff had been hooked to and a rather fashionable waterskin — then whistled for his horse and steed, Niedlich. "As such, even before I have repaid you for this rescue, I must ask a favor of you,"

"Oh joy, a sidequest,"

"What?"

"I said sure. I'll help you exterminate that gang," said Aaron with a yawn. However, just as Forrest was about to thank him, Aaron added a condition. "But in exchange, you must find or sew me something comfty and snazzy to wear! Mwahahaa! Exploitation is fun!" laughed Aaron in the melodramatic manner of a mad scientist as he offered Forrest a handshake to seal the deal with. Immediately afterward, before Aaron could retract his condition as a joke, Forrest beamed like a searchlight and then quickly grabbed and shook Aaron's hand.

"It's a deal! It's a deal! It's a deal!" exclaimed Forrest as he excitedly shook Aaron's hand. At the sight and sound of Forrest's acceptance, Aaron could not help but to blanch in horror at what he had just brought upon himself. "It's a deal with no taksie-backsies!"

"Is that so?" sighed Aaron in resignation to his self-afflicted fate. Subsequently, as Forrest mounted Niedlich and spurred Niedlich into an amble up the hill and then down the road, Aaron robbed Glass of his Glass Sword — yes, really — and then hooked the Glass Swords's scabbard to one of his black jeans' belt hoops as he caught up to Forrest with a jog. "So, where are we off to?"

"A short ways from here, there is a market named Okolnir and a good friend of mine whom is awaiting my arrival," explained Forrest with a point down the road. "I don't want to keep him waiting any longer than necessary, so I'd like to meet up with him before we head out to exterminate Ikanau's Gang. Is that okay with you?"

"Absolutely," answered Aaron, earning himself a beautiful smile from Forrest as he did so. "Gak,"

"Hmm?"

"It's nothing," groaned Aaron with a shake and scratch of his hand. Forrest studied Aaron for a moment, shrugged, and then returned to enjoying his ride atop of Niedlich.

* * *

 

Subsequently, after about an hour or two of travel, Aaron and Forrest arrived at Okolnir. Okolnir was not what Aaron expected from something called a market. It was not so much a town as it was a circular crossroad which was paved with cobblestones and host to a variety of caravans, carriages, stalls, stands, and more. Notably, among the many stalls, was what looked to be an outdoor bar of sorts. And seated at the bar was a familiar face to Aaron. A very familiar face. The Hero of the Slums...

"Anyone wanna touch my muscles? Ladies get a discount!"

" _...Vaike!_ " thought Aaron to himself as Forrest called out to and waved at Vaike and as he struggled to not laugh at the Vaike's antics. One of which included balancing a giant mug atop of his head as a boy danced and hopped along the mug's rim while playing a catchy tune on a flute.

"Forrest! My man!" laughed Vaike as soon as he caught sight of Forrest. Immediately afterward, Vaike removed the giant mug from atop his head and then carefully laid the giant mug onto the ground. After Vaike had done so, and after the boy leapt off the mug's rim and onto the ground, Vaike ruffled the boy's hair and then waved back at Forrest. "How ya been buddy? What's happening?"

"Whose child have you dragged into your shenanigans?" asked Forrest with a look of befuddlement and worry on his face.

"Teach didn't drag him into anything!" exclaimed the Vaike with a stomp of indignation. In response, Aaron and Forrest just narrowed their eyes into a glower of disbelief. "Really!"

"He didn't," said the boy in Vaike's defense. It was at this point that Aaron was able to get a good look at the boy. "He was helping me earns some gold for my sister's medicine,"

"Wait a minute..." breathed Aaron as he began to recognize the boy. "...is that you Nils?"

"Huh?" muttered the boy in confusion and fear. Immediately afterward, the boy retreated behind the Vaike and then poked his head out in observation of Aaron. "H-h-how do you know my name?"

"You're Nils, Ninian's brother, right?" asked Aaron as he remembered that Nils and the rest of the Blazing Swords would no longer recognize him as their tactician. "I've seen your sister and you perform before," said Aaron as a cover-up that was — technically —  _not_  a lie. "Ninian is sick you say? That's unfortunate. Tell me, how much is her medicine?"

"Umm..." mumbled Nils with hesitance that made it clear that he was not buying Aaron's cover-up at all. "...the doctor said that she needs a panacea, so about 1,500 gold?"

"Mhm. Alright. Here," said Aaron as he offered 4500  **G** to Nils, much to the visible surprise of everyone but Forrest. Whom just shook his head and smiled. "Take this. That should be more than enough. Get her that panacea. And once she is back in shape, the two of you can pay me back with a performance. Deal?"

“D-deal!” stammered out Nils as he outstretched his hands towards Aaron and as Aaron laid the gold atop of his palms. Subsequently, as Nils pocketed the gold, Aaron looked over at Forrest and the Vaike and then blinked at Forrest and the Vaike’s smiles.

“Is there a problem?”

“Nope,” laughed Forrest as he softly elbowed the Vaike and then shot the Vaike a knowing smile that the Vaike met with a just as knowing grin. “Not at all,”

“Either way, Forrest here tells me that the two of you need Teach to show you how to Vaike!”

“...what?”

“He’s agreed to help us slay those bandits,” explained Forrest as the Vaike flexed and rambled on in the background.

“Bandits? Do you mean Ikanau’s Gang?” asked Nils with a tilt of his head to the right.

“Yes,” answered Forrest with a tilt of his head to the left. Subsequently, the Vaike began to vibrate his head. Somehow. As if he was trying to tilt his head to the left and to the right at the same time. “Why do you ask?”

“Cause they’ve been giving Ninian and I trouble for weeks now!” complained Nils in a huff. “So far Ninian has been able to take care of them, but doing so over and over and over again has made her sick. And-”

“Let me guess,” interjected Aaron with a raise of his right hand into a stop gesture. “You want to help?”

“Um, well, yes!”

“What? Teach is _sooo_ against this!” snorted the Vaike with crossed arms. “A Vaike is no place for a child!”

“But I’m not a child, I’m a bard!” countered Nils with conviction and fervor. “And bards are useful to have around!”

“They can empower and reinvigorate others, like a dancer or songstress,” explained Aaron to Forrest and Vaike. Immediately afterward, Aaron turned to Nils eyed him curiously. “Tell me. What kind of rings do you have?”

“Uh, well, I have Filia’s Might and Thor’s Ire!” answered Nils as he tried his best — but ultimate failed — to not squirm under Aaron’s gaze. “A-are those fine?”

“A Filia’s Might and Thore’s Ire?” questioned Forrest.

“The Filia’s Might will boost your magic and strength,” answered Aaron with closed eyes. Aaron then opened his eyes to the rather odd sight of an excited Forrest and Vaike. “And the Thor’s Ire will augment the impact of your, I’m sorry, but are you two alright?”

“So you’re telling that you can make Teach’s Vaike even Vaikier than it is Vaike now‽” asked the Vaike of Nils in a voice of excitement. “That’s Vaiking awesome!”

“Oh! With boosted magic I could probably use my Gravity staff to mold bullions and gems into wire! And then weave that wire into all kinds of cloth and fabrics!” squealed Forrest as he giddily hopped in place and excitedly shook Nils. “Could I hire you as an assistant? A partner? Anything at all‽ Please, please, pretty please with sugar on top‽ Or perhaps a cherry? Whichever you prefer!”

“What? Are you kidding Teach? You can’t waste a Vaike like that on fashion!” spat the Vaike as he pulled a baffled and blushing Nils away from Forrest. “It looks like Teach needs to give you a lesson in priorities!”

“Huh? Don’t be absurd! If you get any muscular, that musclehead of yours is gonna explode!” retorted Forrest as he used his Gravity staff to pull Nils out of the Vaike’s grasp and into his embrace. “So keep your hands off my assistant!”

“He was Teach’s little buddy first!”

“Well he is my little buddy now!”

“Help?” begged Nils of Aaron as Forrest and the Vaike argued over him. Aaron snickered at Nils’ predicament and then whipped out his Glass Sword and the Yato. Immediately afterward, Aaron outstretched the Glass Sword under the Vaike’s neck and the Yato under Forrest’s neck.

“Please remember that what Nil _chooses_ to do with _his_ power is up to _him_ to decide,” asked Aaron of Forrest and the Vaike, both of whom did naught but gulp in response. Immediately afterward, Aaron sheathed the Glass Sword and the Yato and then turned to Nils. “Congratulations. It appears that you have managed to convince my fellows to bring you along,”

“Hurrah!” cheered Nils as Forrest and the Vaike wiped a bit of sweat off of their brows. Subsequently, Forrest and the Vaike embarked on a search for Vaike’s axe while Aaron and Nils set out to buy a 3-pack of panacea and then deliver the panacea to Ninian. Aaron and Nils bought the panacea from an elderly and grumpy merchant whom was operating out of a wagon of sorts and then went to a pegasus-drawn vardo where a monk — whom Aaron immediately recognized as Artur, the Saint of Light — was tending to Ninian.

“Artur, Artur! We got the panacea!” cheered Nils as he hugged the pegasus — a stallion named Enif — and then climbed into the vardo. Unlike Nils, Aaron neither hugged Enif nor climbed into the vardo. Instead, Aaron got into a staring contest with Enif. Because he really, _really_ didn’t like animals. An undead animal was something that he could deal with, but a living animals was not.

“That was fast!” gasped Artur as he took the panacea from Nils and then began to apply the panacea to an unconscious Ninian. “Were your shows that good? Or did you find an audience or vendor whom was sympathetic to your plight?”

“Neither,” sighed Nils an instant before he brightened up and then pointed at Aaron, whom was still engaging Enif in a staring contest. “That guy, Aaron, footed the bill and more! He says he’s seen Ninian and I perform before and wants us to perform for him as soon as Ninian has recovered!”

“Is that so?” questioned Artur with a chuckle as the panacea began to work its magic on Ninian, darkening Ninian’s complexion from an eerie white to a more natural pale and hastening Ninian’s breathing from an occasional gasp to a healthy pace. Subsequently, as he looked up from Ninian, Artur narrowed his eyes at the sight of Nils equipping himself with Filia’s Might and pocketing Thor’s Ire. “Nils. What are you planning to do with those? Don’t tell me you’ve gotten yourself involved in a fight!”

“No, no, no! It’s not like that!” argued Nils with a shake of his hands. “Aaron, Forrest, and Vaike are going after those bandits, Ikanau’s Gang, and I’m going with them!”

“Nils. A battle is no place for-”

“I’m a bard, and I’m not a child!” asserted Nils with a stomp of his foot. “Besides, Ninian can’t keep fighting them by herself! Look at her! Look at what overusing the Dragonstone has done to her! I refuse to let this happen to her again!”

“Fine,” sighed Artur in acquiescence. “But be careful, alright? I may not know her all too well, but I am pretty sure that your sister would not like to awaken to news of her baby brother’s death. So don’t go getting yourself killed!”

“I won’t! And thanks Artur. For everything,” said Nils as he hopped out of the vardo. Subsequently, as Aaron and Nils set out in search of Forrest and the Vaike, Artur studied Aaron for a bit and then returned to his work.

Nils was in good hands.


	7. An Old End

The Ikanau Gang were headquartered at Lake Gandvik, a body of water that was more of an especially deep pond than a full-fledged lake. Notably, Lake Gandvik exhibited a peninsula which stretched all the way to its very center. And situated upon the tip of that peninsula, and thereby at the center of Lake Gandvik, was the Singasteinn.

The Singasteinn was a rock. A big rock. A big rock that was around the size of manor house. According to a local legend, once upon a time, the Singasteinn would sing on every night of the full moon. And sometimes, if one asked out of a love for music and song rather than trite curiosity or selfish greed, it would sing upon request. But nowadays? Nowadays, even on the night of the full moon, the Singasteinn was quiet. Many believed that Singasteinn went quiet out of discontent with the current state of Lake Gandvik, while a few cynics and pessimists have come to suspect that the Singasteinn has died. Not just because it has gone quiet, but also because Ikanau had strong-armed a number of the locals into carving a small house's worth of rooms into it!

Needless to say, the Singasteinn was for Ikanau and Ikanau alone. As such, the rest of Ikanau's Gang were housed in one of two cottages. One of which was right next to Lake Gandvik, the other of which was situated a ways from Lake Gandvik but still on Lake Gandvik's beach. In addition to the two cottages, there were two other structures. A cage and a storage shed.

Unlike the rest of Lake Gandvik's structures, the cage was not composed of wood. Instead, it was composed of metal. The cage was sealed with a standard lock occupied by a few people whom looked to be farmers and other such villagers. Suspiciously, most of the people in the cage were women. While the rest of them were either pretty men or young boys.

"Alright, let's get this party started!" exclaimed Aaron in a whisper and from behind the cover of a sizable hill. Aaron then laid the tip of a lengthy and thin stick — carved by Forrest — atop of a steel axe and before he raised his Glass Sword overhead. Subsequently; with a nod towards Forrest, Nils, and the Vaike; Aaron swung the Glass Sword into a slam upon the Steel Axe! As soon as the Glass Sword made impact with the Steel Axe, the Steel Axe chipped and sparked! Immediately afterward, the tip of the stick was ignited by a spark from the Steel Axe and then the Vaike took a hold of the stick and began to wield the stick like a javelin. As the Vaike prepared to throw the stick, Nils reservedly danced about and quietly played a lively tune on his flute. As soon as Nils finished his performance, the Vaike bulked up enough to partially rip his leather greaves and linen pants and then wasted no time in throwing the stick with all of his buffed-up might!

"Oh Vaike," swore the Vaike as the stick flashed through the air and struck the storage shed like a bolt of lightning! As it struck the storage shed, the stick imploded onto its tip and then exploded into a firework of embers! In an instant, the storage shed ignited into a blaze that shone throughout the Lake Gandvik with all of the brilliance and ferocity of the Sun itself! As the storage shed burned like a bonfire; Aaron, Forrest, Nils, and Vaike could not help but drop their mouths into a gawk at the excessive results of their teamwork.

"Help! The storage shed has been set aflame, and our supplies are burning up! Quick! Bucket up some lake water and put that fire out!" screamed a bandit named Zawana as the bandits of Lake Gandvik got to work on trying to save their storage shed and whatever was left of the supplies within it. Not long after; as Zawana began to direct and organize his fellow bandits; Aaron Forrest, Nils, and the Vaike began the second phase of their plan. Just as a number of bandits were about to toss some water onto the fire, Forrest used his Gravity staff to endow the storage shed with a gravitation which pulled those bandits off the ground and into the fire! As those bandits were set ablaze by their descent into the fire, the bandits started to scream in horror and pain!

While the other bandits were momentarily paralyzed by the frightening sight of the bandits' pull into the fire and the horrifying sound of the bandits' screams, Forrest reversed the direction of the storage shed's gravitation and thereby propelled the burning bandits out of the fire and throughout Lake Gandvik! Some of the burning bandits crashed into and ignited a number of the other bandits, but most of the burning bandits crashed into the ground and then began to either flail or run about. Notably, one of the burning bandits crashed into the cottage near the lake and thereby ignited that cottage! That had not been apart of the Aaron Forrest, Nils, and the Vaike's plan. But none of them were complaining about it.

"This isn't sabotage..." murmured Zawana as chaos unfolded throughout Lake Gandvik. By this point in time, most of the bandits were either burning or running in circles and screaming about ghosts and spirits and other such nonsense. To make matters worse, the cottage that had not answered his cry for help had just been ignited! As such, Zawana very much doubted that he would be able to get help from any of the baker's dozen of bandits whom had been asleep within it. "...it's an attack! We're under attack! Stop your scampering and yammering and-"

"It's Vaike time!" was the last thing Zawana heard. Period. Because, right after that, Zawana was decapitated by a tomahawk! Subsequently, as Zawana's head dropped into a bounce along the ground, Forest used his Gravity staff to manipulate the tomahawk into an arc which allowed the tomahawk to decapitate a second bandit and then become embedded within the neck of a third bandit.

"What is going on out here‽" screamed Ikanau as he rushed out of the Singasteinn and scowled at the sorry state of his camp and gang. One of the cottages and the storage shed was burning. The other cottage was empty and all of its inhabitants were either burning up, decapitated, or running around like headless chicken rather than attempting to put out the fires or looking for the ones' whom were responsible for the fires in the first place! And worst of all, the gate to his harem/prison was as open as the sky. For there lock was no longer a lock on the gate. As the lock was currently embedded within the center of a small crater. As if a heavy weight had crushed the locked off of the gate and into the ground. Needless to say, all of whom had been imprison within the harem/prison were nowhere to be seen. "Damn it! Damn it all! When I get my hands on-"

"The commander is out! Hurry! We've got to finish this before he can organize his forces!" said Aaron to Forrest, Nils, and the Vaike an instant before the Vaike and him charged out from behind the hill and onto the shore of Lake Gandvik. Immediately afterward, Nils empowered the Vaike with Thor's Ire and thereby allowed the Vaike to bisect a bandit with naught but a grazing blown from a thrown tomahawk. As this occurred, Aaron pounced upon and tackled a bandit to the ground. And as he did so, Aaron stabbed the bandit in the throat with his Venin Edge and then grimaced as the Venin Edge's poison began to course through and contort the bandit's body. "Damn,"

"What are you idiots doing‽" roared Ikanau as he charged down the peninsula with a Devil Axe — of all things — in hand. As soon as the bandits heard Ikanau's roar, the bandits were quick to jump into action!

Among the surviving bandits; there were two on the left, Ikanau at center, and three on the right. The two on the left were a barbarian and thief. Ikanau, at center, was a barbarian. And the three on right were a barbarian, a dark mage, and a mercenary. Even after an ambush and surprise attacks, Aaron and co were still outnumbered 6 to 4. Or rather 6 to 2. As neither Forrest nor Nils were front-line combatants.

"Bring it on," bluffed Aaron with a nervous chuckle as he used a gesture to signal Forrest into taking action. Immediately afterward; Forrest used his Gravity staff to slam the barbarian, dark mage, and mercenary face-first into the ground and then began to focus on using his Gravity staff to _keep_ the barbarian, dark mage, and mercenary on the ground. However, just as soon as Forrest began, Forrest was met with resistance from the dark mage. With a chuckle, the dark mage enshrouded himself in his very own shadow and then ignited his shadow into a fiery aura of darkness which pushed against — and thereby negated — the force of Forrest's Gravity staff. Subsequently, the dark mage stalked out of the Gravity' staff's area of effect and then began a stroll towards Forrest. However, before the dark mage was able to reach Forrest, Aaron intercepted the dark mage and then gestured for Forrest to continue holding down the barbarian and mercenary. "I've got this,"

"Oh do you now?" laughed the dark mage in a thousand different voices as he slowly outstretched his right arm towards Aaron and then began to assail Aaron with dozens of umbral tentacles!

"The Vaike is feeling generous, so the Vaike will give you a chance to surrender," said the Vaike as he removed a Silver Axe from his back and then swung it overhead and to his side. As Vaike did so, the barbarian and thief glanced at one another and then laughed at the Vaike. As they liked their chances against him.  "Alright then. The Vaike will cancel the class, since the both of you have decided to drop out of life!" screamed the Vaike as he rocketed into a lunge at the thief and a swing of his Silver Axe!

"What's wrong?" asked the dark mage in a mocking tone of voice as he used precise and slight movements of his right hand's fingers and thumb to swipe his umbral tentacles at Aaron. As the dark mage did so, Aaron was forced to swing his right arm into a flurry of slashes in order to parry each and every last one of the dark mage's umbral tentacles. "Don't you got this?"

"Shut..." gasped Aaron as he dodged an umbral tentacle with a backflip and then rolled away from another umbral tentacle's attempt to impale him. "...up!"

"Oh my. That mobility of yours is such a hassle," sighed the dark mage an instant before he thrust his right hand in Forrest's direction and thereby caused all of his umbral tentacles to arc away from Aaron and towards Forrest! However, before the umbral tentacles managed to reach Forrest, Aaron was able to lunge into a overhead swing of his Venin Edge and chop the umbral tentacles in half! Subsequently, the half of the umbral tentacles that were not connected to the dark mage dissolved into nothing. While the half of the umbral tentacles that were connected to the dark mage writhed for a bit and then began to swipe and thrust at Aaron once more! "But as long as that girl is in my range, you can't really afford to step out of it? Now can you?"

"You bastard!" growled Aaron as he parried a swipe from one umbral tentacle but then had his cheek grazed by a thrust from another umbral tentacle.

"It won't happen now. Or anytime soon," chuckled the dark mage as he clenched his right hand into a fist in order to group all if his umbral tentacles into a thick tendril of darkness. Immediately afterward, the dark mage swung his fist in order to swing the tendril into an overhand whiplash. Subsequently, as the tendril descended upon Aaron, Aaron screamed in frustration and then began to wield his Venin Edge with the both of his hands. Aaron then batted the tendril away from him and into a crash beside him! As the tendril's crash beside Aaron kicked up a billow of dust around Aaron, the dark mage unclenched his right hand and then outstretched its fingers and thumbs in order to outspread the tendril into a snarl of tentacles which threatened to entangled Aaron. Fortunately, with yet another shout, Aaron was able to bisect all of the tentacles with just one mighty swing of his Venin Edge and then leap away from the tentacles before they managed to recover from their severance. Unfortunately for Aaron, not long after, the tentacles were on the attack yet again! "But it _will_ happen. Eventually. _Inevitably_ ,"

"You can't be serious," laughed the thief as the Vaike approached the thief with a lunge and a swing of his Silver Axe. Subsequently, with a shrug of his shoulders, the thief dodged the Vaike's overhead swing with a quick step to the side. And as the Vaike followed the overhead swing with a sideways swing, the thief front-flipped over the swing and then rocketed towards the Vaike in order to knee the Vaike in the face! Immediately afterward, the thief kicked off the Vaike's chest and into a backflip away from the Vaike. "You can't seriously believe that you're going to hit me with that level of skill and speed?"

"You play too much!" growled the barbarian as he approached the fallen Vaike with a hammer in hand. Without hesitation, the barbarian raised his hammer directly over his head and then swung it down at the Vaike! Fortunately, the Vaike was able to roll away in time to avoid being flattened into a pancake and then leap off the ground and into a charge and slash at the barbarian. However, in stark contrast to the Vaike's expectations, the barbarian was able to swat aside the Vaike's Silver Axe with naught but a swing of his backhand and then headbutt the Vaike into a hurtle through the air and then a painful crash into the ground.

"Damn," swore the Vaike as he used his Silver Axe to push himself off the ground and onto his feet and then spat out a bit of blood. "They're strong!"

"Nils!" snapped Forrest as he began to tire from his overexertionn of his magic and his prolonged use of the Gravity staff. "I need you to reinvigorate me!"

"B-b-but!" cried Nils as he glanced over at Aaron's struggle against the dark mage and then Vaike's struggle against the barbarian and the thief. "B-b-but they need a boost in power! Who? Who should I-"

"Vaike!" screamed Aaron — who, by this point, was bleeding from head to toe — as he parried an umbral tentacle and then...

 

...turned around and ran!

 

"Switch!" exclaimed Aaron as he sped into a blur and thereby managed to rush past Vaike and towards Vaike's opponents in an instant. Subsequently, the dark mage raised an eyebrow at Aaron's retreat and then attempted to attack Forrest with his umbral tentacles. However, before the dark mage managed to so much as finish turning his umbral tentacles towards Forrest, the umbral tentacles were bisected by a volley of tomahawks from Vaike.

"Looks like Teach just got tenure!" laughed the Vaike as he barreled towards the dark mage with all of the finesse and force of an out-of-control 18-wheeler. Subsequently, with a roll of his eyes, the dark mage used a swipe of his right hand to direct all of his umbral tentacles into a thrust at Vaike...

 

...and then gasped in surprise as Vaike simply allowed  _all_ of the tendrils to _impale_ him in order to complete his charge!

 

"...what?" squeaked the dark mage an instant before Vaike diagonally bisected the dark mage into perfect halves!

 

"It won't be long before your boss arrives, so I'll have to make this quick!" said Aaron as he zoomed towards the barbarian. However, in the middle of his approach of the barbarian, Aaron was accosted by the thief!

"I like this," chuckled the thief as he flashed by Aaron and stole the Yato off of Aaron. Immediately afterward, as Aaron closed the distance between the barbarian and him, the thief lunged into a pounce towards Aaron's back. "So I'll be taking it alongside your life!"

"You're an idiot kid," snorted the barbarian as he swung his hammer at a timing that would force Aaron to either dodge the hammer and leave himself open to the thief or turn to deal with the thief and be hit by the hammer.

"Yato!" called Aaron as he leapt to the side and out of the hammer's reach. As this occurred, the thief got ready to blitzkrieg Aaron. Unfortunately for the thief, before he manged to so much as unsheathe his dagger, he was stabbed in the back!

"Wh-wh-what?" wheezed the theif as he looked over his shoulder and saw nobody. Subsequently, the thief looked down and saw that the Yato was no longer in its scabbard. Instead, it was impaled through his back! "H-h-how," gasped the thief an instant before he dropped out of the air and into a heap upon the ground. Dead.

"That's impo-" was all the barbarian got to say before Aaron pirouette into an whirl towards the barbarian and thereby assaulted the barbarian with a flurry of slashes! Subsequently, before the barbarian managed to so much as attempt to shield himself with his hammer, Aaron lacerated the barbarian. Immediately afterward, as Aaron sheathed his Venin Edge, the barbarian dropped face-first into the ground. Dead.

"Amazing," murmured Nils as he finished reinvigorating Forrest with one of his ringless performances. Not that it was necessary. As Vaike had already executed the barbarian and the mercenary. "Simply amazing,"

"What have you done..." snarled Ikanau as he finally stepped off of Lake Gandvik's peninsula and onto Lake Gandvik's beach. "...what have you done to my empire‽"

"You call this an empire?" snorted Forrest an instant before Ikanau backhanded Forrest into the air and straight _through_ the trunk of a nearby tree. Nils gawked at Ikanau's insane display of speed and strength and then gagged as Ikanau grabbed him by his throat and raised him into the air.

"Nils!" screamed Aaron as Ikanau commenced to dangle and strangle Nils. "No! Stop it!"

"Stop it?" asked Ikanau as he tightened his grip on Nils' throat and then grinned in sadistic ecstasy as he began to hear the pops of Nils' snapping neck. "Stop what? His breathing?"

"Damn you!" roared Aaron as he burst into a sprint towards Ikanau.

 

"Okay,"

 

"Ugh," groaned Forrest as he pushed himself off the ground and winced at the extreme pain that was resonating through his body. Forrest then looked in the direction from which he was backhanded and gasped at both the sight of Ikanau holding a limp-bodied Nils by the neck and the sight of a quivering Aaron holding the handle of a Venin Edge that was impaled within Ikanau's gut. Subsequently, as Aaron removed the Venin Edge from Ikanau, Ikanau dropped Nils and then fell onto his back. Dead.

"Oh..." murmured Vaike as Aaron lifted Nils like a bride and then started the long walk back to Okolnir without saying a word or uttering a sound. Subsequently, as Forrest healed himself with a vulnerary and then began to tend to Vaike with a Heal staff, Vaike could not bring himself to do anything but shake his head and swear. "...damn,"

 

 


	8. Done with It

Aaron snickered. And chuckled. And then laughed. Even thought it wasn't funny, Aaron laughed. Because it was the only thing that he could do to avoid bursting into tears and crying his heart out. As the fires of Muspell burned Okolnir to the ground, Aaron could no naught but laugh.

"Damn it!" swore Forrest as he used the Gravity staff to both drop an incoming fireball into an explosive crash upon the ground and then trip up the horse of an axe cavalier on the charge. Immediately afterward, as Forrest used the Gravity staff to lift the axe cavalier away from his horse and then throw the the cavalier into the distance, an axe fighter appeared out of a nearby billow of smoke and in a leap towards Forrest. "Shit!"

"Not on Teach's watch!" exclaimed the Vaike as he skid between Forrest and the axe fighter and then swung his silver axe at the incoming axe fighter. Immediately afterward, the axe fighter's steel axe broke against the Vaike's silver axe. As a result, the Vaike was able to bat and cleave the axe fighter away from Forrest and into a drop onto the ground. Subsequently, the Vaike looked over his shoulder and shot a glare at Aaron. "Aaron! Unless you want another man to die on your watch, I suggest that you snap out of it and fight!"

"Vaike!"

"No! Shut up! I don't want to hear it Forrest!" snarled the Vaike as he readied and steeled himself for battle against the rest of the Muspellese raiders. "We don't have time for this! We're in the middle of a battle for Vaike's sake! Nils is dead! You're not! It's obvious what needs to be done, but he ain't doing it!" yelled the Vaike as he side-stepped another axe fighter's attempt to chop him with a steel axe and then bisected the axe fighter with an upward swing of his silver axe. Immediately afterward, the Vaike hissed as a throwing knife flew into his gut and then grunted as he was encumbered by a poison that the throwing knife's blade had been coated with. Not long after, as his encumbrance caused him to drop into a knee, the Vaike was charged by a lance fighter! "Aaron!"

"I'm here,"

"Wha..." was all the Vaike got to say before the lance fighter's steel lance exploded into bits and pieces. Needless to say, the lance fighter was bewildered by the abrupt and spontaneous destruction of his weapon. Until, that is, a sizable gash appeared on the lance fighter's armor and chest. The lance fighter gasped in shock and pain. And then, after a short tumble about the place, the lance fighter dropped face-first into the ground. After the lance fighter's drop, Aaron could be seen behind the lance fighter with the Venin Edge drawn out of its sheath and slick with blood. "....oh,"

"I'm going to kill them," stated Aaron as he used the flat of his Venin Edge to deflect a Poison Dagger into a spin into the air and then used the edge of his Venin Edge to bat the Poison Dagger through the air and straight into the forehead of the thief whom had thrown the Poison Dagger at him. "They made me drop Nils' body, so I'm going to kill them!" screamed Aaron as he clashed the blade of his Venin Edge against the blade of an axe fighter's steel axe. Immediately afterward, Aaron kicked the axe fighter in the balls and then knocked the debilitated axe fighter's steel axe to the side. Aaron then thrust his Venin Edge into the axe fighter's face right before he withdrew the Venin Edge in preparation for an assault against him by a green mage and a pair of lance fighters. "I'm going to kill them, I'm going to kill them! Until they kill me, I'm going to kill them! So I suggest you flee while you still can and leave me be!"

"You can't be serious!" screamed Forrest as the lance fighters thrust their steel lances at Aaron and as Aaron used his Venin Edge to parry one of the steel lances and attempted to grab the shaft of the other steel lance before it managed to pierce him. Unfortunately for Aaron, though he did managed to grab the steel lance's shaft in time, he failed to prevent the steel lance from piercing him due to the fact that the lance fighter was using two hands while he was using naught but one hand. But fortunately for Aaron, he did manage to prevent the lance fighter from piercing him all the way through.

"Grr!" growled Aaron as he pushed and strained the muscles of his left arm into overpowering _both_ of the lance fighter's arms. As a result, Aaron was able to pull the spearhead of the steel lance out of him and then upwardly swing the steel lance with enough force and speed to launch the lance fighter into the air above him! Subsequently, as the lance fighter hurtled into the air, the other lance fighter attempted a second thrust of his steel lance and the green mage cast a gale of razor-sharp winds at Aaron! So Aaron leaned out of the way of the second thrust and then lurched forward into a thrust of his own! As soon as his Venin Edge pierced through the lance fighter's cuirass and into the lance fighter's chest, Aaron swung the lance fighter between the green mage and him in an attempt to block the green mage's gale. Unfortunately for Aaron, the gale sliced through the lance fighter and then slammed into his chest with enough force to knock him into a backward skid that withdraw his Venin Edge from the lance fighter's chest. Subsequently, as Aaron stopped his skid with a stomp of his foot and then burst into a sprint towards the green mage, the other lance fighter fell in time for Aaron to impale him on his own steel lance and then then toss him to the side alongside his steel lance. "Graugha!"

"Aaron! Stop it!" shouted Forrest as Aaron chopped straight through a second gale from the green mage and then rocketed into a lunge which allowed him to impale the green mage on his Venin Edge before the green mage was able to cast a third gale at him. Immediately afterward, Aaron hefted the green mage and his Venin Edge overhead and then swung his Venin Edge in a manner that threw the green mage at an incoming sword knight. As the green mage slammed into the sword knight, Aaron nailed the green mage to the sword knight by using a lunge to impale his Venin Edge through the green mage's gut and into the sword knight's face. Then, as the green mage and sword knight dropped to the ground, Aaron replaced his Venin Edge with the sword knight's Steel Sword and then charged and roared at a nearby group of axe and lance fighters. "Aaron!"

"It's no use Forrest," wheezed the Vaike as he removed the Poison Dagger from his gut and then went over to where Aaron had dropped Nils' cadaver. "He's completely lost it! So much so, I daresay that he _wants_ to die!" grunted the Vaike as he picked up Nils' cadaver and as Aaron cut through the axe and lance fighters like a dust devil of Killing Edges, all the while getting chopped and impaled in return. "But something is wrong. He's taking more hits than even I could manage. And yet..."

"Yaaa!" screamed Aaron as he dropped out of the air and into a downward slash at a blue cavalier. However, the blue cavalier blocked the slash with an electromagnetic barrier and then streamed the barrer into a bolt of lightning which blasted Aaron away. Subsequently, as Aaron crashed into a roll along the ground, the blue cavalier used a swipe of his arms to call a bolt of lightning out of the air and into strike at Aaron! Forrest and the Vaike gasped in shock as Aaron was struck by the bolt of lightning!.

"...he won't go down!" finished Vaike as Aaron roared like an irate tiger and then blurred into a flash which carved a fissure into the ground as it surged towards the blue cavalier with all of the ferocity and force of a rushing river! As Aaron approached the blue cavalier, the blue cavalier grimaced in fear and then began to toss bolt after bolt of lightning at Aaron.  Unfortunately for the blue cavalier, Aaron hopped above and around each and every last one of the bolts as he slowly but surely made his way to the blue cavalier. Eventually, Aaron managed to reach the blue cavalier. As Aaron did so, he dashed by the blue cavalier in a manner which allowed him to chop off two of the legs of the blue cavalier's horse. Subsequently, after the blue cavalier's horse tipped over into a fall atop of one of the blue cavalier's legs, Aaron dropped out of the air and then thrust his steel sword through the blue cavalier's head and into the ground as landed atop of the blue cavalier! Immediately afterward, as the blue cavalier breathed his last, Aaron's burns and wounds began to heal and scar.

"Sol, huh?" murmured Aaron as a sword fighter screamed with fear rather than bloodlust or rage and then charged him. With a roll of his eyes, Aaron used his right leg to trip up the sword figher as he dodged the sword fighter's attempt to hack him with a Steel Sword. Aaron then pinned the sword fighter to the ground with a stomp of his foot onto the sword fighter's back. "How convenient,"

"N-no! Please! No!" cried the sword fighter in a voice that was just a bit too high-pitched for Aaron's liking. With a tilt of his head, Aaron removed his Steel Sword from the blue cavalier and the ground and then stabbed the steel sword through the sword fighter's right hand and into the ground in order to both make the sword fighter let go of his Steel Sword and nail the sword fighter's hand into the ground. "Ahh!"

"Let's see here," grumbled Aaron as he threw the Yato like a javelin and into the skull of a red mage whom had been attempting to cast at him and then prompted the Yato into returning to him with a snap of his fingers. Subsequently, as he cleaned the Yato with a quick swing and then sheathed the Yato, Aaron kicked off the helmet of the sword fighter below him and then took a good look at the sword fighter's face. "You have got to be kidding me,"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please! I'm sorry!" cried and sobbed the sword fighter as Aaron observed that the sword fighter was naught but an adolescent. 16 at the oldest and 14 at the youngest. "Please! Oh please! I don't want to die! Please!"

 

"It's over,"

 

"Hmm?" hummed Aaron as he looked to his side and caught side of Artur, whom had a tome of Light Magic in hand. "Over?"

"Yes," said Artur with a nod to his left and his right. Aaron blinked and then looked around and scowled at the sight of the Muspellese with their hands in the air and their weapons on the ground. "You've killed their leader so-"

"So _what_?" snarled Aaron with a clench of his fists. "So what if their leader is dead? How is it over when  _they_ are not dead?"

"Please! I'm sorry! I'm-"

" _You_ are a murderer!" yelled Aaron with clenched teeth and a shake of his head. "You burned and killed at your King's behest without complaint or hesitation. Yet, now that is your life that is about to be taken, you want to weep like a child and whimper like a dog?" snarled Aaron as he moved his foot from the sword fighter's back and to the sword fighter's head. "Then tell me _pup_! How many beggars did you spare? How many pleas did you listen to? I'll spare as you many times as you have spared those whom _you've_ had at  _your_ mercy!"

N-n-no! Please! I didn't want to! I _never_ wanted to! Please! Please!" 

"Yes. He is a murderer..." agreed Artur with a cautious step towards Aaron and a gaze into Aaron's eyes. "...but are you?"

 

"Yes..."

 

"Wha-" was all Artur got to say before Aaron began to stamp onto the sword fighter's head. Again and again and again. Until the begging and crying gave way to inelegant gibberish and gurgles of blood. Aaron would have stamped more. But...

 

"Gravity!"

 

...Forrest used the Gravity staff to knock him away from the sword fighter before he could do so.

 

"Argh!" screamed Aaron as he slammed into a carriage with enough force to knock the carriage over. Subsequently, Aaron crashed into a roll along the ground but then wasted no time in jumping to his feet. Unfortunately for Aaron, as soon as he was on his feet, Forrest was using the Gravity staff to subject him to a triple of the planet's gravity. Consequently, it was difficult for Aaron to continue standing and next to impossible for Aaron to walk.

 

 _Next to_ impossible.

 

"Forrest!" screamed Aaron in a rage as he crushed the carriage beneath his feet as he walked over it and towards where Artur, Forrest, and Vaike were standing between the sword fighter and him. "Release me! Now!"

"N-n-no!" refused Forrest as he struggled to increase and maintain the Gravity staff's grip on Aaron. "Y-you've gone mad with rage!"

"D-d-damn you!" cursed Aaron as he was pushed onto his knees by the force of the Gravity staff. "Why? H-he! Th-they! Don't get in my way!"

 

" _Aaron..._ "

 

"Wh-what?" gasped Aaron as a wisp of visible air appeared before him. Much to Aaron's horror and shock, the wisp bore the appearance of Nils and it was looking down at him with an apologetic and disappointed look in its face. "Nils?"

" _I'm sorry about dying on Ninian and you, but..._ " whispered Nils as he floated over to Aaron and took a knee in front of Aaron. Nils then grabbed Aaron's face and touched his forehead to Aaron's forehead, an instant before the sight and touch of him disappeared. " _...don't take it out on others, okay?_ "

"No! Nils! Don't apologize! It's not your fault! Nils!" screamed Aaron as he desperately struggled to catch the air that the wisp had been made of and put the wisp back together. Needless to say, Aaron failed. "Nils..."

"He's gone man," sighed the Vaike as Forrest exhausted his magic and the Gravity staff ceased to weigh Aaron did down. Immediately afterward, Forrest began to restart the Gravity staff. However, before Forrest could do so, the Vaike stopped Forrest with a grab of Forrest's shoulder and then a shake of his head. The Vaike then began a stroll towards Aaron, whom was using the Yato to push himself onto his feet. "And killing dudes ain't gonna change that,"

"But..!" snarled Aaron more to himself than to Vaike as the Vake came face-to-face with him. "...it'll make me feel better!"

"Will it?" asked the Vaike as he got into a stance and readied his Silver Axe. "I mean, really, will it?"

"Vaike!" screamed Forrest in surprise, as he had not expected the Vaike to be willing to resort to that level of violence against a comrade. Even one whom was as stark-raving mad as Aaron was at the moment. "Stop it Vaike! Stop it!"

"Vaike," breathed Aaron as he got into a stance and stared the Vaike down. It only took one look into the Vaike's eyes for Aaron to realize that the Vaike was not going to back down. He was serious. Even if he had to kill Aaron, the Vaike was not going to let Aaron by. "Why?"

"I'm a man," answered Vaike with a shrug. "And a man doesn't just sit back and watch a child get off'ed. Nor does he allow a friend to make a murderer of himself," explained Vaike with a frown and narrowed eyes. "This is gonna hurt, yeah. It really is. Killin ya is gonna be a real pain. Honestly, I'm totes not up for it. But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Haven't known for long, yet I can't help but to feel for ya. You may try to hide it behind deals and exchanges, but you ain't foolin me. You've got a big heart and a generous soul. You're a good man. And that's why I can't let you do this. That's why I can't let you kill that kid. Cause, if I do, I'd be letting you kill the good man inside of you. The good man that I have come to regard as a friend. The good man that I will _not_ allow to walk down this path!"

"Kind? Generous? Good?" laughed Aaron with a slam of his palm into his face. "You're delusional Vaike!"

"Oh yeah? Then cut me down!" screamed he Vaike with a grin on his face. " _Prove_ my delusion! I'm an obstacle in your path, so that means I've got to be removed, yeah? If I'm as delusional as you say, you should have no problem with that! Yeah‽"

"Get out of my way you little shit!" screamed Aaron in frustration! "I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you! I can kill you before you can _blink_ , so don't fucking try me!"

"Oh yeah? Then do it!" screamed Vaike in turn. "If you want to get _past_ me, you're gonna have to _kill_ me!"

"Are you _insane_? Who do you think I am? _Mark_?" laughed Aaron. On the outside. On the inside, he was anything but laughing. He was agonizing. Screaming. Yelling at himself to both back down and go through with it. Hate demanded him to prove Vaike wrong. Love demanded him to prove Vaike right. "Well guess what? **My Name is Not Mark**! I ain't an ingenious tactician whose never had a casualty. I've had _plenty_ of casualties! I've seen _plenty_ of people die! I just saw _Nils_ die, and I'm going to see that boy — and the rest of these murdering, Muspellese fucktards — die as well!" growled Aaron as the Vaike dropped his axe and then crossed his arms! " _Don't_ do this! Don't test me Vaike! I'll kill you! I swear to you that I will kill you! I've seen plenty of my friends die, so what makes you think that I won't see _you_  die as well?"

"You may have seen them die..." answered the Vaike with a smirk. "...but you ain't never _killed_ them, have you?"

"First time for everything,"

"Then _do_ it!" snapped Vaike in a growl of his own. "Stop wasting both of our times and _do_ it!"

"Vaike-"

"Show me what you've got and kill me!" demanded Vaike with outstretched arms, so Aaron raised the Yato overhead and screamed as he swung!

"No!" yelled Forrest as...

 

...Aaron swung the Yato into the ground and then walked away.

 

"I'm done," said Aaron as he left Okolnir, and the Yato, behind him.


	9. My Name is Aaron

The Twin Cities of Andlang and Vidblainn were a pair of walled cities on opposite sides of the River Edda. Notably, because the River Edda designated the border between Askr and Embla, Andlang was an Askrian city while Vidblainn was an Emblian City....

 

...technically.

 

The de facto of the matter was that Andlang and Vidblainn were sovereign city-states independent from both Askr and Embla, as neither the Kings of Askr nor the Emperors of Embla dared to disrupt the trade between the two cities by exerting any more authority than necessary. As a result, in stark contrast to a supermajority of Askr and Embla's settlements, both Andlang and Vidblainn were host to a full-fledged army rather than a token militia. Both Andlang and Vidblainn can, have, and will handle their own problems with military force if need be. Which is why Aaron had come to them. More than anything, Andlang and Vidblainn were market towns and trade centers. Neither of the two cities produced their own food or their own goods. As such, the proliferation and protection of trade was vital to both of their existence and prosperity. So anything that was a threat to the trade, such as Anankos, was a threat to Andlang and Vidblainn.

Or so Aaron hoped. Honestly, throughout his career as a freelance mercenary, Aaron had dealt with enough of the nobility to know how out of touch they could be reality. It was quite possible that the lords or ladies of Andlang and Vidblainn were very much _**NOT**_ aware of how useless and worthless Andlang and Vidblainn would be without the trade, as it was very common for such lords and ladies to get so caught up in their prestige that they forget that said prestige arose from their _utility_ rather than their _nature_. If that was the case, the people of Askr were screwed. Cause even if Aaron did send a missive to the Royal Court of Askr, because of Embla and Muspell's invasions of Askr, the Royal Court was unlikely to be in a position where they could do anything about Anankos before Anankos manged to reanimate himself an army that was more than worthy of the First Dragon that he was.

"Hope for the best. Hope for the best. Hope for the best..." chanted Aaron in a murmur as he stepped onto the top of a hill from which he could see Andlang in the distance. Notably, because of a strange fog over the River Edda, Aaron could not see Vidblainn. At all. Not even a little bit. Aaron hoped that the fog wasn't a sign of shenanigans or trouble. But he knew that it was.

That was just how these things worked.

"Let's get this over with," sighed Aaron an instant before he just so happened to breathe through his nose and catch a whiff of the smell…

 

...of smoke.

 

"No..." whispered Aaron as he looked upwind and promptly caught sight of a Muspellese army in the distance. Not a war party, like the raiders whom had brought the scourge of Surtr to Okolnir, but an army. A full-fledged army. One that was far better equipped and much far larger than the army of invisibles that Matthew, Will, and him had harassed and harried.

With their ashen armor and fiery mantles, the hellhounds of Muspell looked less like a horde of arsonists and more like a deluge of lava! As they marched towards Andlang, the Muspellese army were burning and crushing the land like the pyroclastic flow of a volcanic eruption. And flattening and scorching the earth as if they were a giant iron being pressed and slid across the hilly grassland that surrounded Andlang. Frighteningly, in spite of their hefty armor and weighty equipment, the Muspellese army was marching at a brisk pace. As such, if Aaron did not get a move on, the Muspellese army had a good chance of reaching Andlang before him and begin to siege the city before he could enter the city.

 

So Aaron got a move on.

 

"Fuck you Surtr!" swore Aaron as he leapt off of the hill and then seamlessly landed into a sprint across across the grassland and towards Andlang. Strangely, in stark contrast to his expectations, Aaron was not running so fast that he blurred into a flash of light moving along the ground. He was still quite fast. Faster than any normal person at the very least. But nowhere near as fast as he had become after his class had changed from Tactician to Lord. With a blink, as he raced towards Andlang as fast as he could, Aaron reached for his shoulder and gasped when he felt the fabric of his shirt rather than the metal of his pauldrons. "I'm not a Lord anymore! Abandoning Yato has changed me back! I'm not a Lord. I'm a tactician,.."

"...I'm a Tactician!" screamed Aaron with a hop for joy. Immediately afterward, Aaron resumed his run towards Andlang with a smile on his face and a hop in his steps. Eventually, after about half-an-hour of running, Aaron was nearing the gates of Andlang. Unfortunately for Aaron, by that point in time, the Muspellese army had already been noticed by Andlang's authorities. Consequently, just as soon as Aaron arrived at Andlang's gates, Andlang's gates were closed and presumably locked as well.

"No! Open up! Please!" begged a surprisingly number of other people whom — like Aaron — had failed to reach Andlang's gates in time to avoid being left outside with the incoming Muspellese army. Eventually; after a minute of bargaining, begging, and cursing; many of those people resorted to either banging on Andlang's gates in a futile attempt to break it down or running for their lives while they ~~thought they~~ still had the chance to do so. Strangely, to even his surprise, Aaron did neither. Instead, he took a look around the "battlefield" and then scrutinized his "forces".

"You can run if you like, but they have horses, pegasi, and wyverns. They _**WILL**_  catch you," asserted Aaron in a halfhearted yell. As Aaron did so, he caught the attention of the people around him. Well, a _few_ of those people. _Just_ a few. Fortunately for Aaron, it was the few whom were experienced with and knowledgeable of combat and warfare. The few whom knew that he was _right_. "If you want to live, you ain't got no choice but to fight. But we can't fight here. It's too open. So we gotta move. I can see a village a short ways from here. It's not a castle, but it's a hell of a lot more defensible than this place so..."

"...yeah, you darn right about dat!" agreed a lightly armored and spear-wielding woman whom Aaron recognized as Nephenee. Immediately afterward, Nephenee took a deep breath... "Oi! If y'all don't be wanting to croak or nothin, you best listen up! Get ur arses over to dat village over yonder and arm and armor ya'selves as best as ye can! No times for complaints or questions people! Move it! Move it!" ...and then began to issue out orders to and wave her spear at all of the nearby people as if she were their lieutenant or something. Surprisingly, in stark contrast to Aaron's expectations, the people _obeyed_. At Nephenee's direction and insistence, the group marched over to the nearby village of Grensvik.

* * *

 

Later, as soon as everyone was inside of Grensvik, Aaron and Nephenee got to work on organizing a defense.

To be perfectly honest, by this point in time, Aaron was used to being screwed. And because he was so used to being screwed, to Aaron, the impossible odds against him were less daunting and more tiresome. So; as Aaron and Nephenee armored, armed, instructed, and positioned as many people as they could and as best as they could; Aaron looked more annoyed by the upcoming battle than worried about it. As if the Muspellese army was more of an irritation than a threat. As a result, much to Nephenee disbelief and surprise, the defenders' morale was absurdly high. People were anxious. Of course. And they were scared. But, in spite of how hopeless their situation was, the defenders were not without hope. They were not without faith. And they believed they could survive. In fact, they believed that they could _win_. It was absurd for them to do so. But they did. Because _Aaron_ seemed to believe so.

"I get where ya coming from, but are ya _**REALLY**_ sure about this?" asked Nephenee of Aaron while Aaron, her, and a number of others stood in front of the _**OPENED**_ gates of Grensvik and stared down an incoming detachment of the Muspellese army. "Most folks would _close_  their gates in this situation, you know?"

"Closing the gates will encourage them to knock down the walls. After which, they'll surround and slaughter us. Leaving the gates open encourages them to try to force their way past those of us whom are standing guard at the gate's entrance. Under those circumstances; they won't be able to surround us and we stand a good chance at repelling them," explained Aaron just as the detachment began their attack upon Grensvik with a cavalry charge! "Alright! Here they come!  It's do or die, so let's do this!"

"Yeah!" screamed the hunters, lumberjacks, mercenaries, militiamen, and travelers behind Aaron and Nephenee as Grensvik's gates were charged by a host of axe, lance, and sword cavaliers. With a quick prayer, Aaron thanked God for the lack of bow or magic-users among the cavalry and then — naught but a few moments before the cavalry would have charged through and stampede upon Aaron and the others — slammed the palm of his hand onto the ground.

"Bolganone!" screamed Aaron naught but an instant before the ground beneath the incoming cavalry abruptly and immediately collapsed into a caldera of quicksand! Immediately afterward, as the calvary dropped into the caldera and struggled to both recover from their drop and drag their horses out of the quicksand, Nephenee bellowed out a battle cry as she and a number of the militiamen showered the cavalry with javelins! Not long after; and as soon as the cavalry stopped trying to free their horses and started trying to defend themselves from the javelins; Aaron and the mercenaries bellowed out battle cries of their own, hopped into the caldera, and then charged the stationary cavalry.

"For Altea!"

"For Chalphy!"

"For Leonster!"

"For Zofia!"

"For Pherae!"

"For Caelin and Sacae!"

"For Ostia!"

"For Renais!"

"For Ylisse"

"For Hoshido, Nohr, and Valla!"

"And for Askr and Embla!" finished Aaron as he cut down an axe cavalier with a single draw and swing of a steel sword. Immediately afterward, Aaron neither hesitated nor waited to cross blades with a nearby sword cavalier. As the blades of Aaron and the sword cavalier's steel swords clashed and sparked against one another; and as the mercenaries engaged the rest of the cavaliers; Nephenee began to command and direct the hunters, lumberjacks, militiamen, and travelers into preparing for the next assault.

"Ere come da fliers!" screamed Nephenee as a host of pegasi and wyverns began a dive towards Grensvik. Needless to say, unlike the cavalry, the fliers did not have much to fear from the caldera...

...or so they thought.

"Just in time!" grunted Aaron an instant before he broke off from his clash with the sword cavalier, sidestepped the sword cavalier's attempt to cut open his chest with a rising swing, and then stabbed the sword cavalier in the gut before the sword cavalier managed to recover from the rising swing. Subsequently, after the sword cavalier barfed a puddle's worth of blood onto his back and shoulder, Aaron withdrew his steel sword from the sword cavalier and then once again slammed his hand onto the ground! "Bolganone!" screamed Aaron for the second time as a  _geyser of lava_ erupted out of the caldera's center and into the air. Not long after, as soon as the apex of the geyser reached the height of the fliers, the geyser's apex exploded like a firework and thereby enshrouded the fliers in a blizzard of incandescent rocks! Notably, though the rocks may not have managed to harm any of the fliers to any notable degree...

"Archers!"

...they did manage to distract the fliers for _just_ the exact amount of time it took for the hunters to arrow down each and every last one of the fliers with ease!

"It's raining men!" laughed a mercenary as, one by one, all of the pegasi and wyverns dropped out of their sky with their riders in tow. "And women as well! Uhh, I mean, we're done here! So we should finish those mounts and riders off while we have the chance!"

"Nephenee and the rest will handle that!" asserted Aaron as he observed he fact that all of the cavaliers were dead and ignored the fact that some of his mercs were dead as well. "We gotta get out of this caldera before any of the enemy mages-"

"Incoming magefire!"

"Shit!" cursed Aaron an instant before an enormous fireball soared into sight and then dropped into the caldera. Subsequently, as the fireball crashed into the ground and exploded, Aaron grunted in resistance to the urge to scream as a shockwave knocked him — and most of the mercenaries as — out of the caldera and into the air. Not long after, Aaron crashed face-first into the ground. Immediately afterward, Aaron jumped to his feet. And then, with a growl in his throat and a scowl on his face, Aaron eyed the battlefield in search of the mage responsible for the fireball and found...

 

...Surtr!

 

"Your cavalry and fliers were felled by these swine? _Pathetic_ ," spat Surtr as he slowly but surely used the vice grip of his left hand to crush the _skull_ of a red cavalier whom Aaron guessed to be the commanding officer of the Muspellese detachment. Immediately afterward, Surtr's left hand ignited with a flame that commenced to melt the skin off the red mage's face! As the red mage screamed in pain and Aaron retched in disgust and horror, Surtr neither hardened his expression nor uttered a sound. Instead, Surtr altered his grip in a manner that allowed him to dig his fingers into the red mage's eyes and thereby cause fire to spew out of the red mage's ears and mouth. " **Burn**. Muspell has no need or tolerance for a weakling whom can't even slaughter a pig or two"

"Surtr!" snarled Aaron as the red mage's head melted in Surtr's hand and as the red mage's screams quieted into a whisper and then vanished into the eternal silence of death. "You bastard!"

"Bastard?" questioned Surtr as the remains of the red mage's head dripped out of his grip and as the red mage's body dropped onto the ground. "Impertinent whelp. I am a king. _**Your**_ king. Yet you, a wretch without nobility or significance, _**dare**_ speak to me? And profane my legitimacy as you do so? How crass. Widdle piglet, flame and steel are too good for you. You will be emasculated. And flayed. And then, after you have been made dickless and skinless, I will _**personally**_ scald you to death with the boiled tears of those I torture for your hubris and rudeness,"

"S-Surtr?" stammered a mercenary as the mercenary pushed himself off the ground and onto his feet. "As in, the King of Muspell? _That_ Surtr?"

"The one-and-only it seems," nervously chuckled Aaron as he stared down Surtr. As much as Aaron was loathed to admit it, he was outmatched here. It didn't matter how many levels that he had managed to accumulate since his not-so-chance meeting with Matthew, Aaron was not match for Surtr. Even if Aaron did have the skill and strength to defeat Surtr, which was unlikely, the man was capable of both invulnerability and resurrection. No matter how hard or smart Aaron fought, Aaron could not defeat Surtr. Much less kill Surtr. It was not just impossible. It was hopeless.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Isn't that guy supposed to be invin-"

"Enough chatter!" snarled Surtr an instant before his eyes became alit with all of the fiery brilliance of a star! Without so much a single moment to spare, Aaron managed to tilt his head just in time to avoid a pair of thermal rays that had been fired out of Surtr's eyes. Unfortunately, because Aaron dodged the rays, the mercenary behind Aaron was hit by the rays. Consequently, the mercenary was ignited into a blaze of boiling flesh and wretched screams. Before long, the screams were muffled into gurgles by the liquefaction of the mercenary's throat. As the mercenary painfully but quietly burned to ash and melted into a goo of bones and flesh, Surtr chuckled for just a short while and then wasted no time in bursting into full-blown laughter. "Bwaha. Bwahahaahaaa! I do so enjoy my pork roasted! Now come child! Come at me with that toy sword of yours. Perhaps, if you at least manage to entertain me, I'll let you die a man! Bwahahaa!"

"Just you wait..." growled Aaron more to himself than to Surtr as he raised his left hand into the air, arrayed his left hand into a peculiar gesture, and then pointed towards himself. Right after Aaron did so, one of the travelers — whom was a merchant by trade and had been the one to provide Aaron with the Bolganone tome — tossed Aaron a Wind Sword that Aaron easily caught in his left hand. "...I'll entertain you alright, but I won't be dying!"

"Talk is cheap, and I have expensive tastes. So-" 

"Shut up!" interjected Aaron as he disappeared and then reappeared behind Surtr. Subsequently, with a roar that boasted all of volume of an erupting volcano, Surtr reacted to Aaron's reappearance in time to immediately assault Aaron. With a swing of his hips, Surtr spun himself into a full-body swing of Sinmara. Fortunately, naught but a moment before Surtr would have decapitated Aaron, Aaron managed to raise his Steel Sword and Wind Sword in time to block the Sinmara. But Unfortunately for Aaron, because of naught but the sheer force with which Surtr had swung Sinmara, the recoil of his block knocked away from Surtr and into a hurtle through the air.

"Burn," demanded Surtr as he used a quick swing of Sinmara to launch a crescent flame towards the hurtling Aaron. However, in stark contrast to Surtr's expectations, Aaron managed to spin in midair and thereby swung the Wind Sword into crescent flame. Subsequently, as soon as the Wind Sword came into contact with the crescent flame, the crescent flame vanished into thin air! As if it had been teleported. "What‽"

"What do you mean, what‽" began Aaron in a laugh as he landed on the tips of his toes and then sprung into a lunge towards Surtr. In response Surtr used a flurry of slashes to hurl a volley of crescent flames at Aaron. "Don't you know?" continued Aaron as he banished each and every one of the crescent flames with hacks and slashes of the Wind Sword. Not long after, just as he banished the last of the crescent flames, Aaron was upon Surtr again. "That  _ **NO**_ fire can burn without _air_?"

"Bah! Fool! You think that parlor trick-" was all Surtr got to say before Aaron discharged a jet of air from the blade of the Wind Sword and thereby rocketed himself towards Surtr. Immediately afterward, before Surtr could react, Aaron drop kicked Surtr in the face with enough force to knock Surtr off his feet and flat onto his ass! "Gak!"

"Whoa!" gasped Nephenee in shock as Surtr hit the ground with a loud and resounding thud. Immediately afterward, everybody and everything went quiet and silence reigned as Surtr stood to his feet...

...and wiped away a bit of _blood_ that had leaked out of his now _broken_ nose.

"Wh-what is this?" spluttered Surtr is disbelief at the sight of his own blood. " **WHAT IS THIS‽** "

"It's just a little something from my world called _science_ ," explained Aaron with a cocky and shit-eating grin on his face. Aaron then began to twirl his Steel Sword and Wind Sword in hand. "Here is the deal,  _ **NO**_  fire can burn without air. Period! Not even your Muspellflame! That Muspellflame may protect _**you**_ from harm, but there ain't _**nothing**_ that protects  _ **IT**_ from harm! Throwing wind at it ain't gonna do nothing of course! But using wind magic to take the wind _away_ from it? Now _**THAT**_ is hella effective! Ain't it?"

"You! You cur! You whelp!" roared Surtr as he jumped to his feet and then used an explosion to literally rocket himself towards Aaron. As Surtr charged into an overhead of his Sinmara, Aaron dodged the charge with a leap into the air and then ceased to twirl his swords as he used a swing of the Wind Sword to conjure a gale which spun him into a haphazard whirl towards Surtr. Subsequently, by the time Surtr managed to cease his charge and turn around, the whirling Aaron was upon Surtr!

"Take this!" screamed Aaron as he hacked away the Muspellflame with the Wind Sword and then slashed into Surtr with the Steel Sword. In stark contrast to Aaron's expectations, he had no problem with using the Steel Sword to seamlessly cleave through Surtr's armor and bones. It was as if...

"...as if I am not swinging this sword by myself," murmured Aaron as he landed next to Surtr. Immediately afterward, with a swing of Sinmara, Surtr repelled Aaron into a frantic and quick retreat and then staggered away from Aaron. "As if everyone you have bullied, harmed, and killed are swinging this sword with me!"

"What rubbish!" hissed Surtr in anger and pain alike as he conjured yet another fireball over his head. " **Burn**!"

"I don't think so!" hissed Aaron in turn as he used a point of his Wind Sword to deprive the fireball of air and thereby cause the fireball to falter and then vanish into nothingness. At the sight of his fireball's dispersal, Surtr grimaced in anger and...

 

...fear!

 

"You can't! You can't  _ **DO**_ that! _**NOTHING**_ can do that! The flames of Muspell are unquenchable!" complained Surtr in disbelief and frustration at Aaron's hard counter to his flames. "Th-th-this isn't possible! It's just  _ **NOT**_ possible! Especially for _**YOU**_! A feeble and nameless hog unfit for anything but slaughter!"

"You got the daft bastard on da ropes!" excitedly and loudly cheered Nephenee with a jump for joy. Immediately afterward, in response to Nephenee's cheer, the rest of Grensvik's defenders began to cheer as well. And then, much to Aaron's amusement, the Muspellese detachment began to cheer too! As his own men and women cheered for Aaron and urged Aaron to finish him off, Surtr glowered at his men and women and then clenched his teeth and fists.

"You," said Sultr. Calmly. And quietly. Without any confusion or vitriol. As he ignited the fingertips of his right gauntlet and then used those ignited fingertips to cauterize the gash that Aaron had cut into his chest. "You are not a pig. You are a _flame_. You are a _hope_. A blazing hope burning in the heart of these traitors and weaklings. A hope for a world without my conquest and sovereignty,"

"And let me guess, you're going to extinguish that hope by exterminating me?" asked Aaron in-between gasps for air. Though Aaron may have managed to both avoid taking any hits from Surtr and land quite a few hits on Surtr, Aaron had only managed to do so by exerting himself as much as he could and pushing himself to his limit. Consequently, in spite of the fact that Surtr and him had not been fighting for long, Aaron was exhausted. Both magically and physically. Without rejuvenation from a bard or dancer, Aaron could not keep this up forever. Without a shadow of doubt, he had to either finish the fight or tone it down.

 

Which was a problem.

 

If he finished the fight, Surtr would resurrect at the pinnacle of his health and the top of his strength. And then Surtr would inevitably overwhelm and kill him. If he toned it down, Surtr would inevitably overwhelm and kill him. No matter what Aaron did, in the long rune, he would lose. Aaron knew this. And, more likely than not Surtr knew this as well. But still. Even still...

 

...Aaron had to fight.

 

He _had_ to. For _real_ this time. Aaron had to fight! Cause if he didn't. If he retreated from Surtr and quit the field. He may not die. And his comrades-in-arms may not die. But the people in Grensvik? The ones whom could not fight or run? They would most certainly die. They would absolutely die. Like  _Catriona_. Like _Nils_.

 

"Like _me_ ," murmured Aaron as he narrowed his eyes at Surtr and then tightened his grip on his Steel Sword and his grip on his Wind Sword. "Like I did. So many times. Over and over again. With each and every life I lost and took. Until I just stopped caring at all and ceased to be the boy I once was and became the man I am,"

"I take back what I said about you," said Surtr as he began to radiate with heat rather than burn with fire. As Surtr did so, the air around Surtr began to blur and shimmer and the ground beneath Surtr began to melt. "You are, indeed, worthy of fire and steel!"

"Then come," demanded Aaron with a wave of his hand. And so, without further ado...

 

...it began!

 

Being the faster one, Aaron was the first to move. An instant, Aaron sheathed his Steel Sword and took his Wind Sword into the both of his hands. Immediately afterward, with a flourish of the Wind Sword, Aaron conjured a gale around the Wind Sword. Aaron then burst into a sprint towards Surtr. Whose response to Aaron's charge was to use a swing of his free hand to hurl a billow of heat towards Aaron. Fortunately for Aaron, because the billow of heat was hot enough to blur and shimmer the air like a heat haze, Aaron was able to see the billow. As a result, Aaron was able to use a well-timed swing of his Wind Sword to conduct the heat into the gale around the Wind Sword and then used another well-timed swing of the Wind Sword to throw the heated gale away from him. Immediately afterward, before Surtr managed to generate any more heat to assault him with, Aaron used a kick off the ground to abruptly close the distance between Surtr and him!

"You dare oppose a king‽" asked Surtr in a shout of indignation as he swung the Sinmara at Aaron and as Aaron swung the Wind Sword towards him. Immediately afterward, as the blades of the Sinmara and the Wind Sword clashed against one another, the air between Aaron and Surtr exploded into a maelstrom of fire and wind! The maelstrom kicked up a cloud of ash and dust and knocked Aaron and Surtr away from one another. Subsequently, as Aaron and Surtr landed into a skid along the ground, the cloud spread across the battlefield like a fog over a lake.

"Do you?" heard Surtr all around him as he stabbed the blade of Sinmara into the ground as a quick means of putting a stop to his skid. Immediately afterward, Surtr growled in frustration as he became surrounded by many blurs of movement.

"You are not a king!" snapped Surtr in a roar as he swung the Sinmara with enough force to knock away all of the ash and dust that was around him. As Surtr did so, he gasped in surprise at the sight of emptiness rather than Aaron. "What kind of sorcery-"

"Down here!" heard Surtr from _below_  an instant before the ground beneath him collapsed into a deep pit. As Surtr fell into the pit, Aaron arose from the pit and into an upward slash at Surtr! "Insert critical quote here!"

"Grr!" growled Surtr as he spun in midair and thereby deflected Aaron's slash with a swing of his Sinmara. Immediately afterward, the sheer force of the deflection knocked Aaron into a hurtle towards and then an embedment within the pit's wall. Not long after, Surtr landed at the bottom of the pit and then used a heat-enshrouded fist to punch an explosion at Aaron! As said explosion knocked Aaron through the wall, through the ground, out of the ground, and then into a hurtle through the air; Aaron could not help but to upchuck a small bucket's worth of blood.

"Oh damn," swore Aaron as the world spun around him. Never in his life had Aaron been hit so hard. And never in his life had Aaron so much as imagined that he could _survive_ being hit so hard! "I'm tougher than I thought!"

"Scatter like ash!" heard Aaron an instant before he caught a glimpse of an incoming fireball in the spinning world. With a grunt, Aaron stopped his hurtle with a gale from the Wind Sword and then dispersed the fireball by using the Wind Sword to deprive the fireball of air. However, immediately after the fireball's dispersal, Aaron caught sight of Surtr! Whom had wryly hide his charge behind the fireball! "And burn till nothing remains!"

"Shit," cursed Aaron an instant before Surtr slammed a fiery uppercut into his jaw! As soon as Surtr did so, Aaron felt heat. And pain. Aaron's face became hot yet wet as it was ignited with a flesh-melting flame. And Aaron found himself gurgling a mouthful of pain as his jaw was pulverized into dust and all of his teeth were either cracked apart or shattered into bits. The world became a darkening and whirling mess of random colors as Aaron arced and hurtled through the air and eventually dropped into a fall towards the ground.

 

His face was hot and sticky.

 

His mouth was hurting and immobile.

 

He had a headache that was quickly escalating into a migraine.

 

And everything was dark! And everything was spinning!

 

He was dying.

 

"Do you see..."

 

He was dying.

 

"There is no hope..."

 

He was dying.

 

"I am immortal!"

 

He was dying.

 

"I am invincible!"

 

He was dying.

 

"I am Surtr, and I am your..."

 

He was dying.

 

"And now you _**ALL**_ will die for-"

 

" _WHAT‽_ " mentally screamed Aaron as he pushed himself off of the ground that he had crashed upon and onto his feet. As Aaron did so, he heard cheers of joy and gasps of surprise. And a growl. A guttural growl of anger and frustration. " _Die? Did you say die?_ "

"Bwahaha! Losing that pretty face of yours wasn't-" was all Surtr got to laugh before Aaron was upon Surtr. Surtr gasped in surprise at the speed of Aaron's charge and then gagged as Aaron punched him in the face with a left hook! Immediately afterward, as Surtr was staggered by the left hook, Surtr wildly swung the Sinmara at Aaron and then gasped in disbelief and surprise as Aaron  _ **CAUGHT**_ the Sinmara's blade within the grasp of a wind-enshrouded left hand. "Im-im-impossible!"

" _Die?_ " mentally questioned Aaron as he used a lurch of his left arm to both snatch the Sinmara out of Surtr's grasp and toss the Sinmara into the distance! Subsequently, Surtr ignited his left hand and threw his left hand into a punch aimed at Aaron's face. Unfortunately for Surtr, Aaron blocked the punch with his Wind Sword and then mentally roared as he used the Wind Sword to deprive the area around Surtr of _**ALL**_  its air and thereby encase Surtr in a _vacuum_ of all things! Not long after, as explosive decompression caused the air in Surtr's lungs to explode out of Surtr and into the vacuum around Surtr, Surtr's lungs — and a number of his other internal organs as well — were hacked and slash apart! Consequently, Surtr barfed up a lot of his blood and vomited out plenty of his innards. He then desperately and quickly leapt away from Aaron and out of the vacuum. Subsequently, as Surtr struggled to refill his ripped and torn lungs with air and replenish all of the oxygen that his body had lost to the explosive decompression, Aaron took his Wind Sword into the both his hands and then got into a very formal stance. " _Did you say that they will all die? Catriona? Esra? Ewert? Ueli? Matthew? Wil? Roderick? Luke? Forrest? Vaike? Artur?.._ "

" _...Nils‽_ " mentally screamed Aaron as Surtr used a punch to thrust a blast of heat towards him. With naught but a mighty swing of the Wind Sword, Aaron chopped that blast of heat in half! Aaron then blurred into as flash as he lunged into a dash towards Surtr. Whom, by this point, was scared shitless. " _No!_ " yelled Aaron in his mind as he used a swing of the Wind Sword to cut open the wound that Surtr had cauterized. As Aaron did so, Surtr grunted in pain and then threw a right hook at what little was left of Aaron's jaw! " _I won't let you!_ " continued Aaron as he stopped Surtr's right hook by chopping off Surtr's right arm! Then, As Surtr howled in pain and reached for his right shoulder with his left hand, Aaron chopped of Surtr's left arm as well! " _I won't let you hurt him!_ " raged Aaron as he cut into Surtr's chest and thereby marked Surtr's chest with an X-shaped gash composed of the new wound and the reopened wound. " _I won't let you hurt **ANY** of them!_ " swore Aaron as he stabbed the Wind Sword into the very center of the X-shaped gash on Surtr's chest. Immediately afterward, the Rite of Flame activated and so Surtr caught aflame with the resurrective fire of a phoenix! " _I will **NEVER**!_ " grunted Aaron as he used the Wind Sword to deprive the Rite of Flame's fire of its air! " _ **EVER!**_ " howled Aaron as the fire of the Rite of Flame spluttered, raged, and writhed before him. " **LET YOU HURT THEM!** " physically screamed Aaron as the Rite of Flame's fire  **DIED** and naught but an instant before he blew apart Surtr's body with a spiraling blast of wind!

"Sweet Ashera," breathed Nephenee as bits and pieces of Surtr blew across the battlefield like leaves caught in the grasp of an autumnal breeze. As this occurred, Aaron dropped to his knees and then towards the ground. However, in stark contrast to Aaron's expectations, he did not hit the ground. Instead, he was caught. Just as Aaron was about to question his catcher, out of nowhere, Aaron's pain began to lessen and Aaron's felt a change in his body. Not long after, Aaron was no longer hurt. He could see and speak without a gargantuan effort. He felt fine, because he had been healed...

...by a Muspellese troubadour!

"Who are you?" asked the troubadour of Aaron as she helped Aaron to his feet. Aaron did not answer the troubadour's question. Instead, Aaron just gawked at the troubadour and then turned his head and gawked at the rest of the Muspellese. All of whom had dropped their weapons and were celebrating with the Grensvik Forces. As if they weren't enemies or something.

"My name..." began Aaron as he looked over the battlefield and noticed that the rest of the Muspellese Army was celebrating as well! Apparently, nobody was offended by Surtr's death. _Nobody_.

"...is Aaron," finished Aaron an instant before he found himself being lifted into the air by a group of Muspellese soldiers and paraded about. "Wh-wh-what the? H-hey! Stop! Put me down! Put me down! I'm afraid of heights, so put me down!"

"Aaron," breathed the troubadour in an awe-filled whisper as Aaron was paraded across the battlefield and as the war between Askr and Muspell came to a most unexpected end in the Plains of Andlang.


	10. We Survive Together

The fog _had_ been a sign of trouble.

 

And shenanigans as well. But mostly trouble. For the fog, of course, was not a natural phenomenon. In fact, the fog wasn't even fog! It wasn't a dense cloud of water droplets, but rather it was a billow of miasma. A curtain of monstrous exhalation.

 

The foul breath of _monsters_.

 

"It's just one thing after another," grumbled Aaron as he took a set at the end of a pier and gazed upon the silhouettes of the ghost ship that was blockading Andlang's port. The ghost ship was an absurdly massive vessel. _**Absurdly**_ massive! It was 25 feet high and 360 feet long! **360**  feet long! It was long as not just one football field, or even just two football fields, but **THREE** football fields! And it wasn't just stupidly big. It was also stupidly armed as well! For it was equipped with a grand total of 30 ballistae! 14 along on each of its sides and 1 on each of its ends. It was also equipped with 26 repeating crossbows, 13 along each of its sides, and **FLAMETHROWERS** that spewed their blazes out of the 10 gunports situated on each of its sides!

 

Needless to say, the ghost ship was not going to be captured or sunk anytime soon. Which, of course, was a bit of a problem. Because, in exchange for Andlang and Vidblainn's assistance against Anankos, Aaron had agreed to relieve Andlang and Vidblainn of the ghost ship... 

 

"This sucks," sighed Aaron as he pushed himself away from the pier's end and then stood up. Subsequently, Aaron pulled at his wooly hair in a futile attempt to rack his brain for a strategy or tactic that he could use to defeat the ghost ship. Unfortunately for Aaron, all he could think of was how unfair his situation was. Why? Why did he have to fight yet another impossible battle? After all that he had endured and overcome, after all that he had abandoned and sacrificed, why has he faced with yet another obstacle‽ What had he done to deserve such a challenge? What **WRONG** had he committed, what **EVIL** had he perpetrated, to burden and curse himself with such a cruel and merciless fate? Why was that he had to do **SO** much just to do the  **RIGHT** thing? **WHY** ‽

"Calm down, calm down..." murmured Aaron as he ceased to pull at his hair and started to take deep and long breaths. "...calm down. You're close. You're so close. One more. Just one more thing. Just one more thing and then it will all be over. Just one more thing and then your task will be complete. Just one. More. Thing," breathed Aaron with closed eyes and a relaxed body. Subsequently, Aaron opened his eyes and then began a stride down the pier and towards the docks.

 

It was time for him to meet his crew.

* * *

 "You have got to be kidding me..." groaned Aaron as he leaned to the side in order to avoid being stabbed in the face with a Brave Lance. Immediately afterward, Aaron backwardly leaned under a swing of the Brave Lance and then kicked off the ground and into a backflip away from the Brave Lance's wielder. "...okay, what gives?" sighed Aaron as he landed into a skid along the docks' cobblestone street. Subsequently, after his skid had slowed to a halt, Aaron drew his Steel Sword and then eyed his attacker.

"Naught of grave import!" answered Hafedd, a Daein commander and halberdier who was clad in pitch-black armor from head to toe, as he assumed assumed a wide stance. "I merely seek measurement against the slayer of mighty Surtr!"

"Did you..." was all Aaron got to say before Hafedd charged! In an instant, Hafedd was upon Aaron! Subsequently, Hafedd's Brave Spear blurred into a myriad of afterimages as Hafedd assaulted Aaron with a flurry of stabs! With clenched teeth, Aaron began a dance of hops and leans as he leapt and swerved out of the way of Hafedd's stabs. Eventually, after a few seconds of tap dancing, Aaron used an abrupt and quick swing of his Steel Sword to deflect one of Hafedd's stabs. Immediately afterward, while Hafedd's Brave Spear was still parried, Aaron lunged towards Hafedd and then thrust his Steel Sword towards Hafedd's chest! But Hafedd sidestepped the thrust and then leapt away in time to dodge a follow-up slash from Aaron. "...volunteer for a suicide mission,  _ **JUST**_ for the chance to fight me?" finished Aaron as he turned to face Hafedd.

"But of course!" admitted Hafedd with a tap of the ground with the butt of his Brave Spear. "It was the chance of a lifetime, so I staked my life on it!"

"I can't believe that young man is keeping up with old Hafedd..." murmured an Andlangi soldier as Hafedd burst into a sprint towards Aaron. "...makes me wonder if that story about him killing Surtr is true,"

"Of course it ain't true!" spat another Andlangi soldier as Hafedd reached and then struck at Aaron with an overhead slash of his Brave Spear. "Surtr's got invulnerability and resurrection, remember? Guy's invincible!" continued the second soldier as Aaron leaned _just_ far enough to cause Hafedd's swing to _only_ graze his face and chest. Immediately afterward, as a small crater was smashed into the cobblestone street by the head of Hafedd's Brave Spear, Aaron half-sworded his Steel Sword into a downward thrust upon the Brave Spear's shaft! "He can't be defeated or killed by anyone! Much less some weak..." started the second soldier an instant before Aaron bisected the Brave Spear's shaft! Subsequently, as Hafedd dropped his Brave Spear and then reached for his Spear, Aaron kicked off the ground and into a flying knee which struck Hafedd in the face! Then, while he was still in midair, Aaron grabbed the back of Hafedd's head and yanked as hard as he could. "...fuck," swore the second soldier as Aaron slammed Hafedd's face into the cobblestone street and then laded into a kneel beside Hafedd. "Shite! Maybe he did kill Surtr after all!"

"Death or surrender..." hissed Aaron as he pressed an edge of his Steel Sword's blade against the nape of Hafedd's neck. "Chose before _I_ chose!"

"Hahaa!" laughed Hafedd with a raise of his arms. "I surrender! Bwahaahaaa! So that I may live to  _ **FIGHT**_ another day!"

"Alright," sighed Aaron as he sheathed his Steel Sword and then stood up. "Does anyone else want to test me?" asked Aaron with a crack of his neck and narrow of his eyes at the Andlangi soldiers whom he had been given command of.

"Nope!"

"No!"

"Not at all!"

"Don't hurt me!"

"Oh thank God," thought Aaron to himself as, one-by-one, all of his so-called crew acknowledged and capitulated to his authority...

"What I want is to know what our plan is!"

...except for one, _of course_.

"It doesn't matter how fast you are or how many stupid risks you're willing to take..!" spat a blonde-haired and blue-eyes bowwoman with a hiss in her throat and a scowl on her face. Inwardly, Aaron groaned. And even screamed a bit. As well has flail his arms and stamp his feet! On the inside, Aaron threw a full-fledged temper tantrum! But on the outside? Aaron did nothing. He didn't even turn to face his naysayer. At least, not yet. Instead, he just sighed. Sighed and listened. "...cause neither of those things are gonna do a damn thing to help us take down that ghost ship! So, Speedy, what's our plan?"

"My name is Aaron," asserted Aaron as he finally turned to face his naysayer, the bow-wielding assassin known as Clarisse. Clarisse, the dreaded Sniper in the Dark, did not seem to pay Aaron's assertion any mind. As Clarisse did nothing to acknowledge that she had heard Aaron. Instead, Clarisse just crossed her arms and then glowered at Aaron. Waiting for Aaron to explain his plan to her. "And the plan is..."

* * *

 "Why am _**I**_ stuck on this stupid boat with _**YOU**_ ‽" spat Clarisse as she used a pair of oars to row a canoe down the River Edda. "And why am I the _**ONLY**_ one rowing‽"

"Because..." began Aaron as he placed a foot upon the bow of the canoe and then began to scrutinize the misty night for any signs of the ghost ship. Not long after he began to do so, Aaron coughed from the miasmic pollutants in the air and then shivered from the cold. Much to Aaron's chagrin, the so-called fog was **poisonous** of all things. Consequently, Aaron and Clarisse each had to ingest an antitoxin just to avoid dying before the engagement with the ghost ship even began! And to make matters worse, the vapors and waters of the River Edda were as cold as the ice and snow of Nifl! So, if Aaron and Clarisse did not hurry, the two of them were quite likely to freeze to death before either of them managed to so much as catch sight of the ghost ship! And they most definitely would freeze to death if they fell into the water!

"...I'm the one with the Bolting tome," finished Aaron just as the ghost ship came into view. At the sight of the ghost ship, Aaron could not help but to grimace. It was one thing to watch the ghost ship from a safe distance and another to behold the ghost ship from within the ghost ship's firing range. While it looked big from afar, it looked absolutely enormous from up-close! Honestly, the ghost ship appeared to be less of an oversized boat and more of a wooden island! To make matters worse, unlike the view from the pier, the view from the water allowed Aaron to see the reason why the ghost ship was called a ghost ship. With that reason being that the ghost ship was not manned by, well, man. But rather by _**monsters**_. Animate skeletons and rotting corpses swarmed the the ghost ship's deck with all of the robotic diligence and perfect teamwork of a colony of ants. As soon as Aaron and Clarisse's canoe was spotted, the ghost ship's crew wasted no time in aiming the frontal ballista and unfurling the tattered — yet fully functional — sails!

"Oh no you don't!" snapped Aaron as he opened the Bolting tome in his left hand and then used a flourish of his right hand to withdraw multiple pages worth of runes from the Bolting tome. Subsequently, as the runes arose off of the Bolting tome's pages and into the air, Aaron thrust his right hand in the direction of the frontal ballista and then grunted as the runes deprive him of some of his life force in order to empower themselves with that life magic. Immediately afterward, slowly but surely, the runes began to convert themselves into sparks of electricity. And then, abruptly and out of nowhere, _**ALL**_ of the runes exploded int a bolt of lightning which arose into the air and then dropped upon the ballista with all of the explosive force of a mortar bomb!

"What was the point of that‽" snarled Clarisse as the broken and burning frontal ballista started to put itself back together. Fortunately, because the fire was hampering the ghost ship's regeneration of its frontal ballista, Clerisse was able to row Aaron and her out of the ghost ship's range before the ghost ship managed to recover from the Bolting. "We already knew that it could heal, so what was the point-"

"To make sure it keeps after us and to keep it from being able to attack us," answered Aaron as he watched the ghost ship traverse the River Edda's waters with all of the grace and speed of a water strider.

"You don't think I can row fast enough‽"

"More like, I see no reason to gamble our lives on such an unlikely possibility,"

"So you don't think I can do it!" snapped Clarisse. Subsequently, before Aaron could respond, Clarisse growled with all of the indignation of a beaten dog and then more than _**TRIPLED**_ the speed of her rowing! "Well then, I'll show you! I teach you not to fucking underestimate me!"

"Wh-wh-whoa there!" complained Aaron as the canoe began to shake and wobble from naught but the sheer intensity of Clarisse's rows. "P-p-pace and steady yourself, will ya?"

"Shut up you idiot!" spat Clarisse as she _**SPED UP**_ rather than slowed down! "Can't you feel that‽"

"Feel wha-" was all Aaron got to say before the water beneath began to arise into a wave. "Wh-wh-wh-what the‽"

"Get down!" hissed Clarisse as she grabbed the back of Aaron's shirt and then yanaked Aaron into a backward drop onto the canoe. Subsequently, Clarisse began to use the rows to steady the canoe as the wave crashed into the water and dropped the canoe into a spin across the waters' surface! "Stay still!" ordered Clarisse as she placed both oars into the canoe. Subsequently, as she stood up in spite of the canoe's spinning, Clarisse withdrew her Shining Bow from her back and then eyed the draco-zombie which had stirred up the wave with its rise from the River Edda's depths.

"No!" exclaimed Aaron as he pushed himself onto his butt and then grasped the hilt of his Steel Sword. "We can't stop here, lest the ghost ship catch and sink us!" asserted Aaron as he rose to his feet and struggle to balance himself on the spinning canoe. "K-k-keep rowing! I'll-"

"Just get in my way!" snorted Clarisse as she bopped Aaron in the head with her bow and then pushed Aaron back down onto the canoe. " _ **YOU**_ row! I'll handle this!"

"Eiieyoraugh!" screeched the draco-zombie as it used a swing of its wing to launch a crescent jet of water towards the canoe! "Eiieyo!" bellowed the draco-zombie as it followed-up its swing with a belch which blew a flame of miasma towards the canoe!

"Is that the best you can do?" huffed Clarisse as she drew back the Shining Bow's string in order to knock a radiant arrow of heat and light. "Pathetic!" shouted Clarisse as she loosed the radiant arrow. Immediately afterward, in an instant, the radiant arrow pierced through the middle of the jet and then slammed into the water in front of the flame! As a result, the jet was bisected into short-lived halves. While the water evaporated into an explosion of steam which smothered and walled off the flame! "Now, die!" hissed Clarisse as she quickly yet accurately loosed a radiant arrow towards the draco-zombie's forehead! However, the draco-zombie purposely _**BROKE ITS OWN NECK**_ as it arced its neck in order to move its head in time to dodge the radiant arrow! "...what‽"

"Eiieyargha!" howled the draco-zombie as it snapped its neck back in place and then used a flap of its wings to erupt out of the water and into the air! Immediately afterward, the draco-zombie outstretched its wings and then began to upchuck spheres of noxious goop at Aaron and Clarisse as encircled Aaron and Clarisse with a soar! "Eiiyaroo!" 

"What's happening‽" asked Aaron as he rowed and rowed and rowed as fast he could, all while trying his best to not panic at the occasional sight of the flying draco-zombie. "Clarisse!"

"Shut up!" demanded Clarisse as she blasted the goopy spheres apart with radiant arrows! In response to Clarisse's counterfire, the draco-zombie ceased its soar and then used a flap of its wings to blow a miniature tornado towards Aaron and Clarisse! "Tch!" hissed Clarisse as she knocked a radiant arrow and then fired the radiant arrow into the water ahead of Aaron and her. Not long after, a billow of steam erupted out of the water and into the hull of the canoe! As a result, the canoe was rocketed off the water and into the air! "Hang on!" ordered Clarisse as she grabbed Aaron's shoulder with her left hand and kept ahold of her Shining Bow with her right! At the same time, Aaron grabbed the sides of the canoe without letting go of either of the oars! "This is gonna be a bumpy ride!" warned Clarisse as the airborne canoe slammed into the miniature tornadoe and then began to surf along and up the tornado! As the canoe rode the tornado up into the air, Aaron struggled to keep ahold of the canoe's sides in order to avoid being blown of the canoe by the tornado's gales. While Clarisse struggled to keep ahold of Aaron and her Shining Bow as well!

"Eiieyurah!" shrieked the draco-zombie in frustration as the canoe surfed off the tornado's apex and into a soar through the air! Subsequently, the draco-zombie began to flap its wings in preparation for a flight after Aaron and Clarisse, but then the canoe tilted a bit in midair and the draco-zombie caught of Clarisse with a radiant arrow knocked on her Shining Bow! "Eii-" was all the draco-zombie got to scream before Clarisse loosed the radiant arrow and blew the draco-zombie's head off with the resultant beam of light!

"You filth..." murmured Clarisse as the canoe dropped out of the air and onto the waters of the River Edda! Subsequently, as Aaron and her were splashed with ice-cold water, Clarisse put her Shining Bow down onto the canoe. Clarisse then gazed into the miasma and at the ghost ship. "...now that's just unfair,"

"Eiieyoraugh!" roared a _**DOZEN**_ , a full fucking _**12**_ , draco-zombies as they flew away from the ghost ship and towards the canoe! Clarisse grimaced at the sight of the draco-zombies and then picked up her Shining Bow...

"Good job Clarisse..."

...an instant before all 12 of the draco-zombies were shot out of the sky with a myriad and variety of arrows.

"...thanks to you, we made it!" announced Aaron as he rowed the canoe into an archipelago of sea stacks and islets! An archipelago which was garrisoned by all of the Andlangi soldiers under Aaron's command!

"About! **Damn**! **TIME**!" laughed Clarisse as Aaron rowed the canoe up to an islet. Immediately afterward, after Clarisse and him disembarked from the canoe and onto the islet, Aaron wasted no time in casting yet another Bolting spell!

"We got em!" announced Aaron as he conjured a pair of lightning bolts into the sky in order to momentarily mark the sky with an X. Immediately afterward, as the ghost ship's crew caught sight of the archipelago and attempted to halt the ghost ship's advance, a number of sea stacks and islets began to form around and behind he ghost ship! Consequently, much to the horror of the ghost ship's crew, the ghost ship was stuck! "We _**FUCKING**_ got em!"

"I must admit!" laughed Hafedd as he dropped off a sea stack and next to Aaron and Clarisse. "I did not believe that the Bolganone tome could be used to create this archipelago. Nor did I believe that it could be used to create the sea stacks that our Red Mages have been posted on! I also did not believe that Clarisse and you could lure the ghost ship here without the Red Mages' support. And so, of course, I most definitely did not think you could get the ghost ship to sail right past the Red Mages without the ghost ship noticing the Red Mages' presence in the miasma!"

"Well, to be honest, neither did I!" laughed Aaron as he drew his Steel Sword and then pointed his Steel Sword at the ghost ship. "But, in spite of all of our lack of belief in it, the plan _**WORKED**_! We've got the ghost ship faced  _ **FORWARD**_ and _**TRAPPED**_! And now..." began Aaron as the few Red Mages on the archipelago began to use Bolganone tomes to erect a bridge of volcanic rock which lead from the archipelago and to the ghost ship! "...we've got a path to _**VICTORY**_!"

" _ **CHARGE**_!" ordered Hafedd in a roar as he burst into a sprint down the bridge and towards the ghost ship. Immediately afterward, the Andlangi soldiers let out roars of their own and then began to charge with Hafedd!

"Let's do this!" hollered Clarisse as she began her charge towards the ghost ship!

"Yeah," chuckled Aaron as he sheathed his Steel Sword and then whipped out an Elfire tome. Subsequently, after he opened the Elfire tome and then prompted the Elfire tome into a float around him, Aaron charged as well!

"What are you doing‽" spat Clarisse as she looked over her shoulder and saw Aaron closing in on her. "Idiot! Get back to the archipelago before you get yourself ki-"

"You're not..." started Aaron as a horde of skeletons and zombies began to swarm over the ghost ship, onto the bridge, and into a charge! "...the only one who knows how to fight!" finished Aaron as he thrust his arms into a push of air. Immediately afterward, the push air accelerated into razor-sharp gales which arced around the Andlangi soldiers and into the undead horde!

"Heh," chuckled Clarisse as Aaron's gales decapitated and shredded a number of the skeletons and zombies. "Fine!" yelled Clarisse as Aaron and her neared the melee.

"Hark, craven dead who shirk the grave in fear of the beyond, do ye be less bite and more bark‽" japed Hafedd as he pulverized a line of skeletons into dust with naught but a single swing of his Brave Spear. "Doth thou have naught else to show? Does this be thy greatest blow? Ha! What feeble worms thy be! Without the vantage of the sea!"

"Dude, why are you rhyming?" asked a Lance Fighter as he used his shield to block a zombie's attempt to claw his face. Subsequently, after he bashed the zombie away with his shield and then stabbed his spear through the zombie's head, the Lance Fighter could not help but to blink in disbelief and surprise as the zombie floated off his blade and towards the ghost ship. "Uhh, what?"

"Oh..." breathed Hafedd as all of the skeletons and zombies, and all that remained of the slain skeletons and zombies, floated away from the bridge and towards the ghost ship. "...shit," gasped Hafedd as the ghost ship, skeletons, and zombies were shredded into granules by a tornado of miasma.  Subsequently; Hafedd could not help but to back away in fear as the tornado coalesced the ghost ship, skeleton, and zombie granules into a serpentine hodgepodge of bone, cloth, flesh, and wood!

"Wh-wh-what is that‽" asked an Axe Fighter in a yell an instant before the Flying Dutchworm began to momentarily flashed between invisibility and visibility and then bellowed out a fiery billow of miasma! "Ahh!" screamed the Axe Fighter an instant before the billow swept over and then _**VAPORIZED**_ him into a biotic gas!

"Sweet Ashe-" was all Hafedd go to say before the billow reached and vaporized him as well!

"Lonnie! Hafedd!" screamed Aaron in horror and misery as Hafedd was dissolved by the Flying Dutchworm's breath attack! "No! No! No, no, no, no! I! I was! I was so close! I was-"

"Shut up and run!" hissed Clarisse as she grabbed Aaron's hand and then pulled Aaron into a retreat

"Retreat! Retr-" began the Lance Fighter as he turned to run, only to be caught and disintegrated by the billow before he managed to take so much as a single step!

"Ahh!"

"Help!"

"M-m-monster!"

"Somebody, please, s-s-save me!"

"GURAAAaaa..."

"...damn it!" snapped Aaron an instant before he snatched his hand out of Clarisse's and then began a sprint towards the billow rather than away from it!

"Hey!" yelled Clarisse as Aaron charged through his retreating forces and then stopped before the incoming billow! "You idiot!" screamed Clarisse with closed eyes as the billow washed over Aaron...

 

"Elwind!"

 

...and then was blown apart by an explosion of wind that Aaron had erupted from himself!

"Damn you..." cursed Aaron as the billow's destruction brought him face-to-face with the Flying Dutchworm. In response, the Flying Dutchworm flicked its tongue and then smirked. "...damn you!" cried Aaron, literally, as he willed runes off of the surface of his Elwind tome's pages and into the air. Subsequently, as the runes converted themselves into razor-sharp gales of air, Aaron angrily swept an arm across the air. " **DAMN YOU**! **CURSE YOU**! **FUCK YOU**!"

"Eiie!" hissed the Flying Dutchworm as it glowered at Aaron and then emitted a beam of ionized miasma from each of its eyes! As the beams zoomed towards him, Aaron drew his Steel Sword. Subsequently, as he blocked the beams, Aaron willed his gales into an assault upon the Flying Dutchworm. As each of the gales slammed into the Flying Dutchworm's face, they tore a crescent fissure into the Flying Dutchworm's face. As its face was literally torn apart, the Flying Dutchworm hissed in pain. It then abandoned its attempt to eyebeam Aaron to death in order to quickly slither into the depths of the River Edda.

"Come back here, you cowa-" was all Aaron go to say before the Flying Dutchworm's tail erupted out of the River Edda and splashed him with cold water. Immediately afterward, the Flygin Dutchworm's tail lashed out like an oversized bullwhip and smashed through a portion of the bridge of volcanic rock.

"Commander!" called a Red Mage as the Flying Dutchworm isolated Aaron from everyone else.

"Don't worry about me!" yelled Aaron over his shoulder. "Just get out of here!" ordered Aaron naught but a moment before the  Flying Dutchworm's tail began to thrust towards him. Notably, because of the sheer density and width of the tail, Aaron was forced to duck under and hop over the thrusts rather than lean around or sidestep them.

"Eiieya!" shrieked the Flying Dutchworm as its tail dropped into the River Edda and as its head emerged from the River Edda and into an arc towards Aaron! "Eii-" continued the Flying Dutchworm as it swooped down towards Aaron but then was knocked away from Aaron, and into the River Edda, by a bolt of heat and light!

"Idiot!" snapped Clarisse as she ran into a wide jump from the longer half of the bridge to the shorter half of the bridge. Subsequently, as she landed next to Aaron, Clarisse bopped Aaron in the head. "Watch your back!"

"...right," chuckled Aaron as Clarisse and him pushed their backs against one another. "Sorry, and thanks!"

"I don't need an apology!" spat Clarisse as the Flying Dutchworm's head and tail arose at the same time. "Or your gratitude!" growled Clarisse as she knocked a radiant arrow on her Shining Bow. "But, _**AFTER**_ we _**WIN**_ this battle, what I _**WILL**_ need is a freaking drink! Understand?"

"Yeah," said Aaron with a flourish of Steel Sword. "I'll treat ya!"

"Heh," chuckled Clarisse as the head coughed a miasmic orb towards her. Subsequently, after Aaron and her switched places without removing their backs from one another, Aaron smashed the orb apart by whacking with the blade of his Steel Sword. "I'mma hold you to that promise, y'know?" laughed Clarisse as the tail thrust towards Aaron and her. In response, Clarisse loosed a radiant arrow into an explosive collision against the side of the tail and thereby knocked the tail into a drop next to Aaron.

"Of course!" confirmed Aaron as he enchanted his Steel Sword with an Elwind spell by inscribing some of the Elwind tome's runes onto the Steel Sword's blade. Immediately afterward, Aaron stabbed his Steel Sword's blade into the Flying Dutchworm's tail and then discharged the Elwind spell within the tail. Subsequently, as the Steel Sword injected Wind Magic into the tail, the tail inflated and then popped like a balloon! Both Aaron and Clarisse could not help but to giggle in sadistic delight as the Flying Dutchworm roared in agony and as the two of them were drenched and splattered with some of the Flying Dutchworm's innards. "Consider it a promise!" snickered Aaron as the Flying Dutchworm started to spit bullets of miasma at Clarisse and him! "And know that I always keep my prom..."

"Promises?" finished Clarisse for Aaron as Aaron and her split apart from one another and then began to avoid the Flying Dutchworm's spray of venomous bullets by spinning and tap-dancing about the place.

"Artur, Ninian..." murmured Aaron as he enchanted his Steel Sword with an Elwind spell. Subsequently, Aaron seamlessly shifted from spinning around a volley of miasmic bullets to swinging his Steel Sword at the Flying Dutchworm. As Aaron swung the Steel Sword, Aaron discharged the the Elwind spell from his Steel Sword's blade and thereby slashed a crescent gale towards the Flying Dutchman. "...I broke my promise to you," continued Aaron as the crescent gale blew the Flying Dutchworm's spray back at the Flying Dutchworm!

"Eiiiiie!" screeched the Flying Dutchworm as it got a face full of its own miasma. Notably, though the Flying Dutchworm may have not been harmed by its miasma, it was blinded by it! Consequently, as Clarisse stepped forward and took aim at the Flying Dutchworm, the Flying Dutchworm did nothing but flail about in a futile attempt to knock away the miasma around its face.

"I'll put you out of your misery," whispered Clarisse as she loosed two radiant arrows, one after another, which each exploded upon and obliterated one of the Flying Dutchworm's eyes!

"Eiiiya!" howled the Flying Dutchworm as Clarisse blew its eyes to bits! Immediately afterward, the Flying Dutchworm hissed in indignation and then began to roar a full-fledged beam of miasma towards Aaron and Clarisse!

"No!" screamed Aaron as he pushed Clarisse behind him and then conjured a gale from some of the Elwind tome's rues into a circle around him. Less than a second later, the beam impacted against the gale! With growls and grunts, Aaron struggled to keep his footing as the beam pushed the gale and him into a slow but steady skid across the bridge and towards the River Edda. At the same time, Aaron also struggled to fuel and maintain the gale as well! "I won't..." asserted Aaron as he _**FORCED**_ his body to take a step forward and _**FORCED**_ his gale to push the beam back a bit! "...I _**WON'T**_!" reasserted Aaron as the air around him began to  _ **BURST AFLAME**_ as a consequence of naught but the sheer intensity of the friction between the beam and the gale! "Let you take!" continued Aaron as he thrust his arms in the Flying Dutchworm's direction and thereby elongated his gale into an air current which punched through the Flying Dutchworm's beam and then slammed into the Flying Dutchworm's face! "Another life!" finished Aaron as the air current hit the Flying Dutchworm like a haymaker and broke the Flying Dutchworm's jaw!

"Neither..." added Clarisse as she stepped back up and then knocked a radiant arrow on her Shining Bow. "...will!" grunted Clarisse as she took aim at the Flying Dutchworm's open maw. " **I**!" screamed Clarisse as she loosed the radiant arrow! Subsequently, Aaron and Clarisse watched as the radiant arrow flew into the Flying Dutchworm's mouth and then detonated an explosion with the Flying Dutchworm! As the explosion blew the Flying Dutchworm into smithereens, both Aaron and Clarisse dropped to ther knees and then sighed in relief.

"We did it," gasped Aaron as the miasma began to fade away. "We did it,"

"Yeah," groaned Clarisse as she dropped onto her back and sprawled her limbs. "We totally did,"

"Mhm," hummed Aaron in agreement as he dropped onto his back as well. Subsequently, as drowsiness and exhaustion lulled him to sleep, Aaron stole a glance at an already sleeping Clarisse...

...and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'know, I wasn't going to continue this fic. But then I got an awesome comment from an awesome anon. So I just had to keep going. Kudos to you, anon! You reignited my fire for this story! Haha.


	11. It Was all Worth It

Aaron had done it.

 

Against all odds, Aaron had managed to procure both the Count of Andlang  _ **AND**_ the Countess of Vidblainn's assistance against Anankos! In spite of his abandonment of Luke, Matthew, Roderick, and Wil, in spite of his erasure from the hearts and minds of the Blazing Swords, in spite of his loss of Nils, in spite of his broken promise to Artur and Ninian, in spite of his falling out with Forrest and Vaike, in spite of interference from Surtr himself, and in spite of how impossible the task of defeating the ghost ship had seemed; Aaron had done it! In spite of all the dangers that he had faced and all of the heartaches that he had suffered, Aaron had managed to alert the authorities to Anankos' presence and convince those authorities to take action against Anankos! He had succeeded! He had won! He had...

 

...been put on the sidelines?

 

Yes, in stark contrast to Aaron's expectations, neither the Count of Andlang nor the Countess of Vidblainn had asked Aaron to lead the campaign against Anankos. Instead the two of them had assured Aaron that they would uphold their side of the deal, rewarded Aaron's public service with a boon and gold, and then dismissed Aaron from the Andlangi Court. It was, um, well...

 

"...not what I expected," chuckled Aaron as he squirmed in his seat at the bar of a tavern and watched Clarisse chug down an entire mug of Askr's version of _everclear_ as if it was a bottle of water. As the tavern's rowdier patrons cheered in uproarious approval of Clarisse's feat of alcoholism, Clarisse burped and then graced Aaro with a gleeful smile. Or was it a wicked grin? When it came to Clarisse, it was hard for Aaron to tell. For many reasons. But mostly because the only time a smile could be seen on Clarisse's face was when Clarisse was drunk, kinda drunk, or tipsy. So Aaron could never tell whether one of Clarisse' smiles was an exhibition of glee or a prelude to mischief.

"I take it that you'll be paying her tab again, Sir Aaron?" asked Largo, the World-Class Berserker, as he cleaned and shined a glass for no reason other than the fact that it looked "bartendery".

"Pft!" snickered Clarisse an instant before she burst out into laughter and began to slam her onto the bar. " _Sir_? Aaron! A Sir? Like, the knight kind of Sir? Ha! As if! Bwahahaa!" laughed Clarisee while doubled over and clinging onto her stomach.

"Unfortunately," sighed Aaron as Clarisse continued to get a laugh at the idea of him being a knight.

"Ah shut up!" giggled Clarisse as she graced Aaron with yet another of her drunken smiles. "Y-y-you promised, right? And a promise is a promise, right?"

"I promised to buy you a drink..." began Aaron with a rub of his temple as he tried his best to refrain from jumping out his chair and screaming at Clarisse. "...not to pay the tab for all of your previous drinks and _**THEN**_ buy you a shit ton of _**MORE**_ drinks!"

"S-s-same thing!"

"Was that supposed to be a joke‽" yelled Aaron with a slam of his fist onto the bar.

"Alright, alright..." chuckled Calill, the First-Rate Sage, as Amy and her ventured over to the bar. "...calm down there lover boy,"

"Sorry," sighed Aaron with yet another rub of his temple...

 

...and then Aaron realized what Calill had just called him.

 

"It's not like that!" asserted Aaron with yet another slam of his fist onto the bar. This time around, instead of scolding Aaron, Calill just laughed.

"Oohohohoo!" laughed Calill as Amy ran around the bar and up to Largo. Subsequently, as Largo picked up and began to hold Amy, Calill ceased her laughter and then smiled at the flabbergasted Aaron. "Well darling, if that's the case, don't you think that it's about time for you to cut her off?"

"M-m-mind your own business," grumbled Clarisse under her breath, earning herself a wry grin from Calill as she did so. Calill grimaced at the sight of the grin and then huffed as she looked away. "Hmph!"

"Umm..." mumbled Aaron with a quick glance at Clarisse. "...I, well, that is-"

"I know that you like to play the nice guy..." began Clarisse as she winked at Largo and then laid down on the bar and directly in front of Aaron. "...but that doesn't mean you should act like a charity and spoil every freeloader whom comes begging to you for a handout,"

"Begging‽" snapped Clarisse with a slam of her mug onto the bar. Immediately afterward, Clarisse shot a glare at Calill. Whom just smiled in a patronizingly gentle manner. "Excuse me, but what‽"

"Yeah," interjected Largo as Amy started to fall asleep against his chest and within his arm. "Trying to court an ungrateful gal is like fishing in a dead sea," noted Largo with a shrug of his free arm. "It's futile. You're better of just  _abandoning_ -"

 "Oof," thought Aaron as Clarisse stood up from her set and slammed the both of her palms atop of the bar. Subsequently, after she shot Calill and Largo the nastiest glare that she could muster in her current state of drunken stupor, Clarisse grabbed the collar of Aaron's shirt and then began to drag Aaron behind her as she stormed out of Greil's Retreat and into the streets of Andlang.

"So predictable," chuckled Calill as she got off the bar and then took the sleeping Amy from Largo. "I'mma put Amy to bed, alright?"

"Mhm, thanks!" called Largo as Calill returned Amy to the back of the tavern. "Alright, sorry about that debacle, fellas!" said Largo to the rest of the tavern's patrons as he returned to selling drinks and taking orders.

* * *

"Gah!" cried Aaron as Clarisse drug him into an alleyway and then flung him into a wall. Subsequently, as Aaron groaned in pain and rubbed the back of his head, Clarisse slammed her foot into the brick next to Aaron's head and then looked down at him. Both figuratively and literally. "Uhh..."

" _ **Am**_ I just a charity case to you?" growled Clarisse with a fearsome glare and her trademark scowl. Gone was the grins and smiles she displayed during her drunken revelry. And here was the frowns and scowls that dominated Clarisse's face in all of her waking moments of sobriety.

"I may make bullshit deals that are obviously tipped in the favor of those I'm making them with..." chuckled Aaron as he stood up, looked Clarise in the eyes, and then leaned in close enough to feel Clarisse's breath on his face. "But I _**NEVER**_ give away _**ANYTHING**_ for free,"

 "So you say," snorted Clarisse with a blush and then a look away. "But-"

"You saved my life," interjected Aaron as he carefully and slowly pushed Clarisse's leg down. Subsequently, as Clarisse allowed him to lower her leg, Aaron sighed in relief and then continued. "And fought by my side," added Aaron as he stepped away from the wall and back into Clarisse's view. "So you are someone whom I I feel that I can rely on and trust in," asserted Aaron as he reached for Clarisse's face...

 

"Don't get ahead of yourself!"

 

...only to have his hand smacked away.

 

"Right," chuckled Aaron as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and as Clarisse crossed her arms and turned away from him. Subsequently, after a minute of awkward silence, Aaron continued. "Either way, to put it simply, I want you by my side. Always," sighed Aaron with a shrug. "That's why-"

 

"Sorry to interrupt this _touching_ moment, but..."

 

"Damn it," swore Aaron as Clarisse and him turned to face a cloaked brunette. "Matthew‽" gasped Aaron as Matthew skulked out of the shadows and towards Clarisse and him. "What are you-"

"Not a step closer!" spat Clarisse as she reached for the Shining Bow that she had hanging from a hook on the back of breastplate. However, an instant before Clarisse would have taken her Shining Bow in hand, a blur flew through of the air and flashed by Clarisse's hand. Subsequently, Clarisse grimaced as she began to feel the slight pain and wetness of a bleeding scratch on her hand and then looked on the ground to see the arrow which had grazed her hand. "Tch!"

"Whoa there, pretty lady!" snickered Wil from atop a nearby roof as he halfway nocked an arrow as a warning to Clarisse. "I'mma have to ask you calm down, alright? We ain't here to fight,"

"Grr!" growled Clarisse as she bared her teeth and glowered at Wil.

"I see you like em feisty..." murmured Wil at the sight of how bloodthirsty and prickly Clarisse looked at the moment.

"It's okay Clarisse," said Aaron in a futile attempt to calm Clarisse down. Subsequently, much to Aaron's surprise, Clarisse huffed and then mellowed out.

 

"...but well trained,"

 

"I will  _ **CASTRATE**_ you!" howled Clarisse with a reach for her Shining Bow, forcing Aaron to restrain her to keep her from attempting to put an arrow in Wil's face.

"Wil!" hissed Mathew as he shot Wil a glare, whom grimaced and then began to sheepishly rub the back of his head.

"Sorry,"

"Either way..." sighed Matthew after a minute of waiting for Aaron to finally succeed in calming Clarisse down again. "...it has been a while, hasn't it, Mark?"

"We both know..." sighed Aaron with a sag of his shoulders and a shake of his head. "...that I am not-"

"Bullshit!" cursed Wil in a spat. Immediately afterward, Wil leapt off the roof and landed in front of Aaron. While Carisse was taken aback by Wil's approach, Aaron just frowned. "Like hell you aren't!" snarled Wil with a rough poke of Aaron's chest and then a swipe of his hand through the air. "I, I don't believe it! I _can't_ believe it! N-not, not after all we..."

"Wil?" questioned Aaron in a whisper as a stream of tears began to run down Wil's face.

"It's as you say," interjected Matthew with a shake of his head. "We know that you are not who we thought you were. But..." began Matthew with a bite of his lip. "...it's hard to believe. You appearance, behavior, and name are all different from our Mark but-"

"Your aura is the same!" finished Wil with a grab of Aaron's shoulders....

"Hands off!"

...which got him kicked away by Clarisse,

"Ouch," thought Aaron as Wil doubled over and grabbed his stomach. "You okay there buddy?"

"Kicks like a fawking horse!" wheezed Wil as he limped over to a wall and then abruptly began to vomit onto the ground. "Oh gawd!"

"What the hell is going on here‽" snapped Clarisse with bared teeth and clenched fists. "What are you idiots talking about‽"

"Please calm down," asked Matthew as he checked on Wil, gently patting Wil on the back as he did so. "And don't attack us again. Or _else_ ,"

" **OR ELSE WHA** -"

"Hey!" shouted Aaron as he situated himself between Clarisse and Matthew. "Stop it Claire!"

"C-C-Claire‽" stammered Clarisse with a blush on her face. "Excuse me, but who said you could call me-"

"I'm sorry for posing as Mark," said Aaron to Matthew and Wil. As Aaron did so, Matthew looked over his shoulder and Wil looked up. Subsequently, Aaron's eyes met Matthew and Wil's eyes and Aaron could not help but to freeze at what he saw within them...

 

...pain.

 

"I didn't mean to..." gulped Aaron as he tried his best to do the right thing. To tell the _truth_. And _stick_ to it! It hurt. Yes! It hurt! It hurt more than any wound that Aaron had ever suffered!  And it didn't just hurt Aaron. It hurt Matthew and Wil as well! But. Even still...

 

...it was the right thing to do.

 

"...it's why I kept my distance from you all," explained Aaron without looking or turning away. In spite of his urge to do so, Aaron did not break his gaze into Matthew and Wil's eyes. "But I was so happy to be able to meet the two of you in person..." admitted Aaron with a smile. "...and to become your friend in real life, that I kind of got carried away!" laughed Aaron as his smile grew from mouthy to toothy. "I allowed you to mistake me for Mark," admitted Aaron as he closed his eyes in a futile attempt to avoid crying. "And then I exploited and violated your friendship with Mark for my own benefit and pleasure," sobbed Aaron with a lowered head, clenched teeth, and trembling hands which were clinging onto his pant legs. "But worse of all..." growled Aaron as he forced himself to look up and open his eyes. "...I abandoned you!" snapped Aaron as he straightened up and unclenched his hands. "I left you behind..." sighed Aaron with a shake of his head. "...because I was too much of a coward to admit to my wrongdoing!"

"Aaron..." murmured Wil as he straightened up himself and then wiped vomit off his mouth. "...you bastard!"

"Hey!" exclaimed Clarisse in protest as Wil lurched forward and then punched Aaron in the face! "Why you..." began Clarisse an instant before she was silenced by the sight of a dagger flying by her face. "...damn it!" sighed Clarisse in resignation as she glanced over at Matthew and saw that Matthew was more than ready to throw yet another dagger.

"Wil?" questioned Aaron in a groan as Wil stalked up to him and then glowered at him. "I-"

"You son of a bitch!" snarled Wil as he grabbed the collar of Aaron's shirt and then pulled Aaron off the ground and onto his feet. "Do you think I'm fucking stupid‽" asked Wil as he both pushed Aaron away and released Aaron's collar. " **I** am the one who said that we should stop Anankos, **not** you!" snarled Wil with a thump of his chest and then a point of his thumb at his face.

"And it was not you that tracked me down..." added Matthew without lowering his throwing hand or taking his eyes of Clarisse. "...but rather me that tracked you down!"

"It was me who insisted that we had to do something about Anankos..." growled Wil as he crossed his arms and then began to glare at Aaron. "...I urged you to take up arms against a **DRAGON GOD** and you **AGREED**!" stressed Wil as he began to tap his foot. "So tell me..." demanded Wil as he ceased his foot-tapping and lowered his arms. "...what part of that sounds as if _you_ were exploiting _me_?"

"This story of yours is bullshit!" snapped Matthew with a scowl on his face. "Seriously, I don't mean to copycat Wil, but do you think that we are fucking stupid?" asked Matthew. Matthew then nodded at Wil. Who nodded back, stepped away from Aaron and Clarisse, knocked an arrow on his bow, and then aimed the arrow at Clarisse. As Clarisse hissed at Wil, Matthew lowered his throwing hand and then approached Aaron. "I'm not Mark, I was just posing as him!" said Matthew in a mocking imitation of Aaron's tone and voice. Subsequently, Matthew strode up to Aaron and then smirked. "It's true that, after we were separated at the Serenes Forest, Wil and I ceased to see you as Mark..." admitted Matthew with a slight lean of his head, a shrug, and a momentary raise of his arms. "...but it's not like we forgot everything you did with and said to us!" snorted Matthew. "So if you think that you're gonna be able to convince us that you're some kind of complete strange who managed to deceive us into believing that you were a close friend of ours..." began Matthew as he walked past Aaron and to the entrance of the alleyway. "...you had best rethink that," chuckled Matthew as **Leila** walked into the alleyway.

"You..." murmured Aaron at the sight of Matthew's beloved. "...promised," gulped Aaron with a shake of his head.

"I'm a spy," retorted Leila with a shrug. "I lied,"

"A spy like me would not be recorded in the history books..." began Matthew as he crossed his arms and smirked. "...so I could not help but to find it weird that a so-called impostor was familiar with and knowledgeable of me of all people," continued Matthew. He then looked at Leila and smiled. "And after Leila came to me, I learned that the Count of Andlang and the Countess of Vidblainn had offered you a boon as a reward for your public service..." chuckled Matthew as Leila and him took a hold of one another's hand. "...and that you had used that boon to have Leila brought into Zenith and sent to me!"

"You fought back-to-back with Matthew against those invisibles!" snapped Wil.

"You joined Wil in opposing a dragon god!" snapped Matthew.

"You rode with the both of us in a fight against an army!" shouted Wil.

"You tried to sacrifice yourself for our sake in Serenes Forest!" shouted Matthew.

"You bought medicine for Ninian back in Okolnir!" roared Wil, surprising Aaron with his knowledge of that event.

"You cried and raged over Nils' death!" roared Matthew.

"And you used your hard-earned boon to reunite us," interjected Leila with a squeeze of Matthew's hand.

"So you can take this impostor shit and shove it up your ass!" cried Wil, literally, with a stamp of his foot.

"Cuz none of us are dumb enough to believe it!" announced Leila, Matthew, and Wil in unison.

"Okay!" snapped Clarisse with a throw of her hands into the air. "What is going on here‽"

 

"A reunion..."

 

"Eh?" uttered Clarisse an instant before a sword whirled past her face."S-S-Stop doing that!" demanded Clarisse with yet another throw of her arms into the air. As Clarisse did so, Aaron caught the sword and then gasped at the sight of **Yato**!

"...a Vaiking reunion!" laughed the Vaike as he entered the alleyway with Artur, Forrest, Ninian, and...

 

"Nils?"

 

...Nils!

 

"Aaron!" shouted Nil as he ran up to and hugged Aaron! Aaron gawked at the sight of Nils and then hesitantly hugged Nils back, fearful of the possibility of Nils disappearing in his arms again.

"Fished em out da World of Blazing dat we did!" explained Nephenee as she entered the alleyway as well. "Dying sure hurts dat it does, but it sure ain't permanent for us hero types!"

"You guys..." murmured Aaron as Artur, Forrest, Leila, Matthew, Nils, Ninian, the Vaike, and Wil forced Clarisse to gather up with them and face down Aaron. "...why?"

"Because..." began Roderick as he entered the alley and as Luke dropped down from above. "...if I remember correctly, we are  **Lyndis Legion** , right?"

"And though Surtr may be gone, Anankos is still out there!" added Nils with a tug of Aaron's shirt. "And we gotta stop him! We gotta!"

"We know that you have been through a lot..." said Artur with a clasp of his hands. "...but please. Just, just one more thing. If you will,"

"A true hero's work is **NEVER** done!" laughed Luke in a hearty and thunderous voice. "And you, my friend, are definitely a true hero!"

 "I think you've got what it Vaikes to be even more Vaiking Vaike than the Vaike himself!" insisted the Vaike with a nod.

 

"The Luke agrees!"

 

"Don't you start that too!" hissed Forrest.

"So come on Aaron!" urged the Vaike. "Get off ur arse! You're not done just yet!"

"Askr has not been doing so well against Anankos..." explained Ninian as she walked up to Aaron with a smile on her face. "...but I know, Aaron, that you can make a difference!"

"I am **SO** confused..." grumbled Clarisse as she tried her best to hide her joy at being apart of a group. "...so, so very confused!"

"So what if your name isn't Mark?" asked Matthew in a snort. "You're still our friend and tactician, Aaron!"

"Tch!" hissed Aaron as he placed his hands on his hips and then shook his head. "I can't believe this," sighed Aaron in resignation of the situation. Subsequently, Aaron looked at Yato and remembered the plight of the Ravens in Serenes Forest. "But yeah..." agreed Aaron as he raised his head and looked at his comrades and friends. "...you're right. **We** do need to stop Anankos!"

"And we will," stated Matthew. As a _fact_.

"Damn straight we will!" hollered Wil with a leap for joy.

"So our contest to determine the truest hero among us..." coo'ed Luke with a smirk on his face. "...resumes!"

"Please forgive my friend's stupidity," laughed Roderick with a rub of the back of his head.

"He'll  _suffer_  for all that the has done to my world..." chuckled Forrest as a Leo-like smirk appeared on his face.

"That's what the Vaike is talking about!" yelled the Vaike in approval! "Let's Vaiking do this!"

"Please allow me to repay you," begged Ninian with a bow.

"And please accept my support," asked Artur as he graced Aaron with a gentle smile of reassurance.

"And don't you even think about sidelining me!" huffed Nils as he broke away from Aaron and then glared at Aaron. "I'm gonna fight too! Y'hear?"

"Oi!" shouted Nephenee with a raise of her spear. "Dun you be forgettin me guy! Y'all can count me in too! Dat Anankos fella def be asking for me tah wallop em once or twice!"

"Since my old boss Hafedd is dead..." mumbled Clarisse with a blush and a look away. "...I guess I can stick around to help,"

"I owe you a debt," noted Leila with a shrug. "And I intend to repay that debt. So don't hesitate to depend on me, alright?"

 

"Alrighty then..." said Aaron as he beheld his party and then about-face into a march. "...let's go!"

 

"Yes sir!"


End file.
